


Vortex of Change

by Shirahane_Himeko



Series: KakaNaru AU mixed with Uzumaki Clan [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family Bonding, Genderfluid Character, Hatake Kakashi Is Trying, Hatake Kakashi is Bad at Feelings, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, M/M, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smart Uzumaki Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:41:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 33,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25441063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shirahane_Himeko/pseuds/Shirahane_Himeko
Summary: They say the Village of Longevity no longer exists. They say the mighty Uzumaki clan no longer exists. Unbeknownst to Elemental Nations, Land of Whirlpool's Uzumaki Clan still exists. They have been hiding after their village and land's destruction. When they heard a member of their clan; a family member who is a certain orphaned child at Konoha Village and is hated for what they carry within their body, the Uzumaki clan no longer hides in the shadow.For that child's sake, they will be the whirlpool that destroy what comes their way.For that child, they will change everything.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi/Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Uzumaki Naruto & Original Character(s)
Series: KakaNaru AU mixed with Uzumaki Clan [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862188
Comments: 14
Kudos: 73





	1. Unpredictability Is In Their Blood

**Author's Note:**

> This is AU, not canon compliant and this is KakaNaru, with addition of NaruSaku as BFF. Don't like this pairing, please hit the back button. There will be some major change from the canon in this story. I will repeat; THIS IS AU AND NOT CANON COMPLIANT. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The series and characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. What I own is my plot and my OCs.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiruzen wanted the best for Naruto when his eyes caught a certain clan's emblem on a scroll. A decision he made that day for Naruto's happiness brings a storm that will shake the Great Tree to its Roots.
> 
> Aka:  
> 1\. Hiruzen is so done with his villagers.  
> 2\. Anyone with Uzumaki as their surname should not be taken lightly.  
> 3\. Uzumaki clan is ferocious and a force of nature.  
> 4\. No one is prepared for Uzumaki clan to revive from their extinct status.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are thoughts  
> "Bold" are sinister voice, serious voice, screams, etc  
> "You're ridiculous" normal dialogue

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of Konoha Village currently sitting in his office at Hokage Tower, brainstorming about what he can do to efficiently protect the current jinchūriki of his village which is just a four years old boy. He had thought that putting the boy in the orphanage was a good idea but he underestimated how toxic the civilian and some ninja of the village feel about the boy. It saddens the Hokage greatly that his village actively trying to kill the boy every chance they got.

The boy's fourth birthday was a week ago and now he's on the hospital because some angry and drunk men had confined him on a shed and burn it. Hiruzen has never been grateful for his late successor, Namikaze Minato for secretly assigning his top student to protect the boy from life-threatening danger. But still, the boy needs to feel safe daily and that's why he is in his office on late hours.

The Third Hokage read through his successor's scrolls when his eyes catch the red swirl symbol on a scroll. It's a symbol of a clan he knew already destroyed a long time ago. It's a wonder he didn't notice that scroll this whole time. Grabbing the scroll, he felt the tiniest flare of chakra signature from it. _Hmm, interesting_ , he thought. Opening the scroll, the Third watch with fascination as words appears on the scroll.

"Who is this? Why are you in possession of my youngest sister's scroll? Where is Kushina?" is written on the scroll. Whoever is writing those words and claiming to be Kushina's older sibling sounds genuine enough and if this person is anything like the late jinchūriki of Konoha was, then they would be fiercely loyal to their family. With that realisation, let alone discovering a scroll that can be used to exchange words in the same way as a letter, the discovery made the Third Hokage weak on the knees that if he were standing, he would buckle down because of his relief.

 _This is it! This is the solution!_ He thought as he writes his answer on the scroll. He told the one who claims themselves as Kushina's sibling about what had happened four years ago. He told them about the attack, the death of Minato and Kushina and their son's fate.

Kushina's sibling stayed silent even after the Third Hokage have stopped writing on the scroll. The man waits for a few minutes before reaching his brush to write his suggestion when other words appear.

"I am Kushina's oldest brother, Uzumaki Sakuto. Her son, Naruto will be put under my care as what she had asked of me the last time we have talked through this scroll that if something happened to her and her husband, I will take care of the boy. However, his status as Konoha's jinchūriki prevents him from leaving Konoha to live in my village.

Therefore, I shall send three of my best jōnin to take care of the boy and live there with him. I am also willing to create an alliance between Konoha and my village. We might be a new, tiny and secluded village, but I can assure you that we are almost as powerful as Uzushio were, albeit with a smaller number of ninja than the former glory of our previous village. These three jōnin I'm going to send are very capable and if you want to see what they can do, you could test them but I warn you; do not underestimate them and do not anger the oldest of them. If Kushina's temper was legendary, theirs are downright disastrous. I shall send them as soon as I could. Please look forward to their arrival in a week."

Before the Third Hokage can reply, the chakra signature disappeared from the scroll, leaving him unable to believe what just happened. Deciding to retire for the night, he realised that when the three jōnin from Uzumaki clan arrive and know Naruto's condition, Konoha will face a storm raised directly from Hell.

* * *

Exactly a week after the Third Hokage's conversation with Kushina's older brother, a group of three people, wearing a dark brown cloak with Uzumaki clan's symbol arrive at Konoha's gate, welcomed by Hiruzen himself with several jōnin and chūnin behind him. "Welcome to Konoha Village. Are you three the jōnin sent by Uzumaki Sakuto?"

His experience of being a shinobi told him the three newcomers are young; he didn't know how young they are until the one in the middle take off their cloak's hood and the Third Hokage had to mask his surprise at the sight of a teenage girl with vibrant blood red hair and equally vibrant blood-red eyes. "Yes, we are. Our village leader had told us about the situation. May we see the boy first before hell descend upon this village?"

Her voice sounds young, too, Hiruzen thought as he saw the change in the girl's attitude. She was smiling with cheer before however, now, her smile darkened and she leaked killing intent, scary enough for some chūnin behind the Hokage to shiver with fear while the jōnin subtly tremble from it. From her look alone, Hiruzen knows the girl would hunt those who hurt Naruto and make them suffer. Thankfully, before her killing intent can alert the ninjas inside the village, her two companions stop her from doing anything rash.

"Calm down, Aneue. Father had told us that such a thing should never happen again now that we are here." The one on the right side patting the girl's shoulder while the one on the left side bumped their shoulder lightly to hers.

"He's right, nee-sama! Now that we're here, we can kick their arses when they try something funny to the boy!"

 _The other two sounds as young as the girl, too, as they call said girl as sister. Could they really be jōnin at such a young age?_ The Third Hokage wants to ask the trio but it can wait for later since clearly, they want to see the boy first before they get into the business.

"Follow me, I will show you the orphanage where he lived." He beckoned the trio to follow him as he dismissed a group of shinobi behind him. The other two Uzumaki didn't take off of their cloak's hood as they went deeper into the village. It wasn't long until they arrive at the orphanage but the trio didn't enter the building; having found the boy they were looking for outside the building and they merely look at him from afar before turning to the Third Hokage.

"As soon as we get into the business, the sooner we can find a dwelling for us to live with the boy and raise him. I can no longer stand to see him here, so please, let us proceed with the agreement."

Glancing at the girl who looks at Naruto with eyes full of compassion, the Hokage nodded and told them to come to the Hokage Tower before he shunshin away to his office followed closely by the trio who knock on the door. "Enter," he said as he sat down on his chair, his ANBU guards are in the vicinity of the Tower to ensure the protection of their Kage.

The girl, who introduced herself as Uzumaki Yōou, laid out the agreement plan from Uzumaki clan to the Hokage and it surprised him that the trio were actually triplets and children of Uzumaki Sakuto. However, what surprised the Hokage most was the detail of their stay in Konoha. "You are willing to answer to my orders and become a shinobi of Konoha?"

The triplets nodded, Yōou's twin brothers have taken off their cloak's hood to properly introduce themselves. "We are staying in your village. Our loyalty is with our village and family. Our aunt and uncle in law sacrificed their lives to protect this village; if we are to protect their son and honour their sacrifices for this village, it is only right if we become shinobi of Konoha." Said Shohei, Yōou's younger twin brother who stood on her right side and her youngest twin brother, Hikaru who is on the left side of hers chimed in, "We can't stay idly, too. While it'll be nice to stay on the boy's side all the time, we are ninja and no ninja should be left idle. Although, it should be clear as well that we are still a shinobi of our own village and clan. There might be times when we have to return if we are badly needed there."

The Hokage is impressed, the triplets seem to have been raised with shinobi life balanced with the lesson of family importance. But there are problems they need to address as well, including the matters of what resides inside Naruto.

They talked about it for more than two hours and after all the immediate problems are being addressed, the Hokage questions the triplets whether they can manage the life of raising a boy, keep what inside Naruto from lashing out and being an active shinobi which they all assured him that as long as one of them stays to look after Naruto, they will manage everything else. However, much to the triplets dismay, they aren't allowed to take Naruto into their pack just yet. The Hokage cannot deny the long-standing alliance between Uzushio and Konoha but with the former's destruction and the fact that Naruto is Konoha's current jinchūriki to Kyuubi, he cannot risk anything; not after the devastating loss they suffered four years ago.

Yōou understand the reluctance to let someone who is foreigner get close to someone important, she really does; it's just...she can't help but get angry at her father for keeping this bit of information from them. She knows he planned this, he might even allow the Hokage to test her and her brothers!

"You and your brothers will be on probation, shadowed by ANBU and be tested by some jōnin. The probation period will last for two weeks at most; one week to familiarise yourself to the village and another for your test and for us to finish preparing the house for all of you Uzumaki to stay. The adoption papers will be ready at the end of the second week as well. Are you still willing for this?" The Hokage asks the silently fuming Yōou and her brothers who just glance at each other and nodded.

"Very well, the three of you would have to stay at a hotel and settle for the day. You must have been exhausted from your journey. Do any of you have anything to ask about this?" The boys look at their twin sister who looks like she's deep in thought but actually planning how to get back at their father for his 'forgetfulness'. Shōhei who sighs at their sister's antic asked whether or not they will have babysitters because surely the Hokage would not let them roam the village by themselves, especially if they heard one civilian calling Naruto names, they might retaliate.

"Yes, you will have babysitters. As you said and displayed earlier when the three of you arrived, I think it's best for all of us. This is the map of Konoha's best hotel. I take it none of you will be going back to..."

The Hokage frowned as he realised something he should ask first, and he almost asks about it when Hikaru answered the unspoken questions. "Our father decided to name our new village as Uzuha Village. And no, we have everything we need and father would send someone if they truly need one of us back at the village."

Relieved that the triplets won't be leaving Konoha in near future, he dismissed the triplets and as they opened the door, to Hiruzen's delight that _finally, someone or some people are using doors instead of windows_ , they are faced with a man with spiky and long white hair and stepped aside to let the older man in before excusing themselves. Outside the office, the triplets ignored the stares from Konoha shinobi as they walked to their hotel and talked amongst themselves.

Meanwhile, the two men inside the Hokage office waited until the triplets are outside of hearing range before the Third Hokage addressed the man in front of him, "What is it, Jiraiya?"

"Those three just now, are they Uzumaki?"

"Indeed they are. A big group of Uzumaki clan even rebuilt Uzushio somewhere unknown. What about them?"

The Third Hokage watched the man as the younger man give him a scroll. "A week ago, Kumo was in an uproar. It seems someone stole an artefact from them. Upon confirming the intel, the artefact was, in fact, belonged to Uzumaki clan and the one who took it was a woman with a fox mask and red hair. It's also said that she faced Kumo's jinchūrikis and the Raikage yet she got away quite easily."

"So, you're saying, that whatever artefact Kumo stole from Uzumaki clan after Uzu no Kuni's destruction was important enough for them to take it back after twenty years have passed?"

"Hmm, they might don't know where it was until recently. We need to know more about the artefact before we can say something about it." Jiraiya didn't know about this whole new Uzushio village thing; Kushina had told him her family survived and were living somewhere near or within Hi no Kuni but she didn't tell him they were rebuilding the village somewhere else. _Is it an act of preserving her clan after they almost got wiped out?_

Hiruzen sighs, _are all Uzumaki this unpredictable?_ He thought as he inhaled from his pipe. "Jiraiya, how long will you stay this time?"

"I think about three weeks. Why?"

"I want you to babysit the Uzumaki triplets."

"What."

"Oh, don't worry. I will also assign some ninja around their age and rank to babysit them. You just have to discuss this with them." Jiraiya can't believe his ears. _Has his sensei gone senile? Him, babysitting teenagers that might be in their rebellious stage? And there are three of them? I'm doomed._

* * *

Sitting on the roof and watched the moon has been the only sister of Uzumaki triplets' favourite pastime during and after a mission, especially the hard ones. _The view here and back at home is almost the same that I almost can't believe this is not Uzuha. After what happened earlier during the day, I needed this or I'd be too restless to sleep_ , Yōou thought as she laid herself down on the roof, not even minding the presence of her shadows that watched her movements. Since they have arrived at their hotel at noon, Yōou had poured her anger into a form of words as she and their father exchanges what Hikaru dubbed as "lovely bonding between father and daughter".

Speaking of the rest of the triplets, they are already sleeping in their room as being idle and without anything to do is just not their style as they have been a ninja for most of their lives. So, sleeping is a better choice for them while their sister enjoys her evening in peace. Well, as peaceful she can get, with shadows lurking and watching them with wary eyes. Said shadows have been tense enough when Yōou leaves her hotel room from the balcony of the said room and leapt to the roof. She considered calling them out but decided not to, yet. For now, Yōou is content to enjoy the silence and her moon viewing.

A few hours of moon viewing and enjoying a peaceful night without any missions or assassination and kidnapping attempts --Uzumaki are still hunted by elemental nations except Fire nation--, Yōou decided to retire for the night. Feeling playful, the blood red-eyed Uzumaki waved towards where her shadows are with a smile before jumping back to the balcony of her hotel room, leaving behind shocked ANBU, who didn't realise the red-haired kunoichi had noticed them, on her wake.

The sun has yet to appear on the horizon and yet, the triplets already opened their balcony doors to let the morning breeze in. Carrying out their morning routine, the Uzumaki triplets ignored their surroundings as they do sit-ups and push-ups. The routine ends after two hours. And after a trip to the bathroom and eating breakfast, the triplets sat in their room and begin to wait for their babysitters. Two hours later and no one had come to fetch them, the now bored triplets with nothing to do except waiting for whoever their babysitters are to fetch them felt like they might die out of boredom.

"Aneue, Hikaru, I'm going to meditate. Please do not turn our room into some sort of warzone while I meditate, please." Having said that, Shōhei moved to the corner of the room and start his meditation, leaving his twins to deal with the boredom.

"Sooo, got any ideas, Yō-nee?"

The oldest and youngest of the triplets look at each other and sighed; they have agreed that only one can meditate until they get comfortable in Konoha, without any shadows watching them. "In the spirit of honesty? I don't know, Hika. We can play shogi but I don't want to check which scroll did we store our shogi board. And there's so little thing to do because we can't spend time doing our hobbies, too."

"I'm so bored," Hikaru whined, already lamented the possibility of dying out of boredom and dramatically flopped down to the tatami floor. "I wanna play with Naruto!"

"Whining won't make any difference, Hika."

* * *

Meanwhile, at training ground 7, Jiraiya and several appointed shinobi are talking about the newcomers, their schedules and where to take the triplets as they give them a tour around the village. "Alright. We got the schedule covered. Any questions?"

A young woman with wavy black hair and red eyes raised her hand and Jiraiya's nodded at her, "Are these triplets so dangerous that we have to monitor them in the guise of babysitting?"

"That's the thing, Kurenai. We don't know much of them. They just arrived yesterday from an unknown village claiming to be the new Uzushio Village. I meet them yesterday at Hokage tower and appearance-wise, they have the look of Uzumaki clan but whether they have other attributes of Uzumaki is yet to be known. And that's our second mission. To find out whether they are truly a member of Uzumaki clan and telling the truth of their intentions."

Another one raised their hand, this time it's a young man in a green skintight jumpsuit. "Jiraiya-sama, what exactly is their reason to come here?"

"....The Third told me two reasons why they are here. The first and the most obvious reason is the familial bond they have with Uzumaki Naruto, our village's current jinchūriki. The previous jinchūriki told me that in order to control the beast, love was needed to fight the hatred inside the bijuu's chakra so long term use will not harm the vessel physically and mentally. The second and subtle reason is that they are willing to share the knowledge of fuuinjutsu. Make no mistake, there are those who are capable to be considered a master of fuuinjutsu without Uzumaki blood in them, however, no matter how good they are with it, no one can defeat an Uzumaki when it comes to seals. It's in their blood; their enormous chakra reserves, abnormal life force, and their unique ninjutsu that borderline kekkei genkai are factors that made them feared in the battlefield. It was also the factors why other nations with the exception of Hi no Kuni, Kaze no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni to combined their forces to destroy the Uzu no Kuni."

Another young woman with violet hair raised his hand, "If their land was destroyed because of their fuuinjutsu, why should we take them in?"

The new question made Jiraiya silent for a few moments before a smirk appears on his face, "Tell me, Anko, do you know what that red swirl on the flak jacket and the standard uniform of Konoha shinobi represent? It belongs to Uzumaki clan as well as Uzushio's symbol and a reminder for us Konoha shinobi to honour our fallen comrades from Uzushio. Uzushio and Konoha were allies, way before the forming of hidden villages as the wife of the First Hokage was an Uzumaki Princess. As well as the first jinchūriki."

The white-haired man sighs and eyed the group of young ninja in front of him as his expression turned serious, "What I'm going to say from now on will not be shared to anyone, you hear me? I meant it, until the Third gave his permission, no one besides you brats should know about this information. This is S class secret. Do you understand me?"

The group, which consist of six shinobi of chūnin and jōnin rank of various age, unnerved by Jiraiya's seriousness and nodded. Jiraiya looks at them for a moment before he nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied with something. "Do any of you know who Naruto's parents are?"

They look at each other, confused. Why did the Toad Sage ask such thing? They answered the question with a no as they truly didn't know of it.

"What about the Red Hot-blooded Habanero of Konoha? Ever heard that name?"

The two kunoichis nodded, they know that name! Which kunoichi of Konoha who wouldn't know the moniker of late Fourth's wife. The others nodded as well, it's hard to forget that vibrant red hair.

"And you know whose wife she was?"

The group of young ninja nodded again, some already connected the dots inside their head. But they would never be able to prepare what Jiraiya will drop on them.  
"She and the First Hokage's wife belong in the same clan. Uzumaki Kushina was the second jinchūriki of Kyuubi and Naruto's mother. His father was Namikaze Minato, the late Fourth Hokage. Naruto is not a demon, he is a great sacrifice his parents had to make in order to save the village."

The group of young ninja are silent as they absorbed the information. Some even look grim as they often heard what the villagers and even some shinobi said about the boy, something among the line of 'finish what the Fourth has left us!'. All of them are basking in the uncomfortable silence until one of them, younger than most of them there ask Jiraiya about what he said.

"Jiraiya-sama, what do you mean by 'a great sacrifice'?"

Sighing out loud, Jiraiya look up to the sky, "Uchiha boy, do you think a parent would gladly offer their children to become a vessel to a Bijuu and made said children into a living weapon of the village? Once a chakra beast is sealed into a person, there are only two ways out. One, extract the chakra beast from that person and let them die from exhaustion from the extraction of what their body hosted for most of their lives or let them kill themselves. Kushina lived most of her life as a jinchūriki and because her status is a secret, she was able to avoid rejection from the civilian and the village's ninja. Naruto, however, doesn't have that luxury because of what happened four years ago. Kushina knows what Naruto would face in his life, the Fourth know it as well but they still did it. For the sake of the village. They both are aware of what Naruto would face but it didn't stop them from hoping that Naruto will be viewed as a hero of the village."

Another moment of silence falls upon them. This time, Jiraiya close the Q&A sessions and suggest they pick the triplets together to let them know the schedule they had made. They didn't realise they are about to step into the field of landmines.

* * *

Yōou is certainly not amused by the way she glares at the back of Jiraiya's head. The man and a group of young ninja picked them up after lunch. The triplets, who had thought the Konoha shinobi that were assigned as their babysitters would pick them up in the morning, only bought enough food to last them until breakfast that day and soldier pills don't count when they are staying in a lively village such as Konoha; which made the triplets spend eight hours in boredom and hunger. The food the hotel had provided for them barely keep their stomach from rumbling.

The man, Jiraiya --he had introduced himself to the triplets when he picked them up-- lead them across the streets of Konoha market district and points out for shops that sell weapons, vegetables, fruits and other daily necessities but Yōou barely spare them a glance as she looks out for some restaurant and food stands for the future.

Jiraiya who has been watching the triplets from his peripheral vision, quietly amused by the only sister of Uzumaki triplets as she only bothers to glance at food stands or restaurants. He also realised that the triplets are still teenagers --he had asked how old they were and to his shock, they answered that in less than two months time, they would be fourteen-- and all teenagers usually have a bigger appetite as they are still growing. The two brothers of the triplets were subtly holding their stomach as if trying to subdue something which probably one thing; hunger.

"Hey, Uzumaki brats," Jiraiya called them and received a glare from the red-headed girl which made him grinned at her as she was obviously holding herself back from kicking him for his nickname.

"Yes, Toad Sage?" Yōou wanted so badly to clawed the older man's face just so that infuriating grin would disappear. Instead, she just gritted her teeth and keep her claws, fangs and killing intent to herself; she wouldn't let herself to add any more excuses for the civilians to verbally torture Naruto once he belongs to their pack.

"Aren't you brats hungry? No need to worry, though. I know the best place to satisfy your hunger and we are here!"

With a flourish, Jiraiya presented the food stand to the triplets; Ichiraku Ramen, it says. The man even looks like he was waiting for something to happen. But when nothing happened, he watched the triplets for their reactions.

The triplets look at the Ichiraku Ramen and slowly turn to look at Jiraiya. The blatant disinterest looks from them made the sage's jaw dropped to the ground; Kushina never look like that whenever someone brought her to this food stand, in fact, she was ecstatic! A cough from the triplets brought Jiraiya back to the present as Shōhei speaks.

"Let me get this straight. You, an older ninja, one of the Densetsu no Sannin and also the teammate of Senju Tsunade-hime; the best medic-nin of the shinobi world, is bringing three teenagers who are still growing and need proper nutrition, to a ramen stand. We just don't get what is running inside your head when you brought us here. Do you even have a brain?"

"But! But! Kushina-chan never refused ramen! The three of you are her family, right?! I heard from her that her family were also addicted to ramen!" Aghast and miffed by the triplets, Jiraiya rudely points at Yōou who just raised one of her eyebrows at his antics and the mention of Kushina's name.

Before she can even retort to the older man, Hikaru sighs and averted a crisis before it truly happens, "Yes, aunt Kushina loves ramen, which is true for most of her siblings. But our father, the oldest of nine siblings, doesn't and while we aren't picky with our foods, we need calories. Lots of it."

"...You brats sure you don't want the ramen?"

"Yes. Now, could we please get some meat? We're starving."

* * *

"How's your day with triplets, Jiraiya?" The old Hokage asked his former student; he had been waiting for this all day. He specifically told them that anyone who babysits the triplets must report back to him so he can monitor them as well.

"Actually, not bad, sensei. They vaguely remind me of Kushina-chan. Surprisingly, they aren't addicted to ramen but just like Kushina-chan, they have a big appetite. I bet they can even match the appetite of an Akimichi. In fact, they have eaten enough yakiniku for twenty people in one sitting. And it seems their stomach can hold more considering they tried most food stands in Konoha. It was a shock to see them eat a lot yet they have a smaller body frame than most jōnin."

 _Now, that's interesting_ , Hiruzen thought. He knew an Uzumaki has enormous chakra reserves and had to eat a lot to replenish it. He was also sure the triplets haven't done anything to work up such appetite. "Anything else?"

Jiraiya nodded and told the Hokage about the plan he made with the other babysitters of the triplets as well as permission to bring them to training grounds. Especially the training ground 3 where the memorial stone stood.

"You're bringing them to the training ground this early?"

Jiraiya had to roll his eyes at the Hokage. He wondered whether or not his sensei had truly gone senile after all those years. He lived his life longer than most shinobi nowadays and he had several decades to work with Uzushio before it's destruction. Surely he knows about the Uzumakis well enough. "You lived longer than us, sensei. There is no way you haven't worked with Uzushio's ninja, especially the Uzumakis besides Kushina-chan and Mito-sama."

"...I will admit that most Uzumakis are full of energy, to say the least. What I meant is about you bringing them to the memorial stone."

The old Hokage wished he can retire again. He still thinks he was too old for this. The presence of the Uzumaki triplets felt like a blessing and a curse. A blessing because Naruto deserved a family that will love him for who he is and a curse because from the moment he dismissed the triplets from his office, many had come and asked about them, what their intention and some even wanted them in the T&I for further information.

Shrugging at the question, Jiraiya didn't even know what made him suggest it, perhaps it was the sorrowful look the triplets made when they passed the Yamanaka Flower Shop after their late lunch. "The triplets seem to be quite adamant to know where the cemetery is or something akin to a memorial for the fallen comrades. They also seem genuine enough to pay their respect."

"...Very well, I'll allow it. Anything else you gained from the triplets?"

"Other than their father was the former Third Uzukage and the oldest of nine siblings with Kushina-chan as the youngest? And that most of the siblings are addicted to ramen with the oldest as an exception? Nothing much."

Hiruzen felt his jaw dropped to the ground and he can't believe his ears. _Sakuto was the Third Uzukage? If it was true, then it must be him that led his people to evacuate and rebuilt their village. But, in order for that to be true, he must have been in his fifties as the Third Uzukage was already active since about thirty-five years ago._ "Instead of answers, they keep on increasing the questions we have about them." He grumbled as he massaged his forehead; that slight headache already forming just from thinking about the mysterious Uzumaki Clan.

Jiraiya's laugh was full of mirth. He can understand his sensei's frustration. Besides their temper, strong life force, an insane amount of chakra reserves and their fuuinjutsu, no one truly knows what Uzumaki clan can do. From what he heard, Uzumaki Mito-sama rarely fights as a ninja because she was the wife of First Hokage and the first jinchūriki of Kyuubi; Kushina-chan, while she was born at Uzushio, she moved to Konoha at a young age and it's safe to say she didn't get much of her clan's knowledge besides fuuinjutsu. His apprentice, Nagato, while also a descendant of Uzumaki clan, it's safe to say he wasn't born at Uzushio and didn't know much of his clan either.

Yes, that mysterious and confusing Uzumaki clan is indeed an enigma.

* * *

It's been six days since the triplets have arrived at Konoha and they can certainly say they are capable of navigating their way inside the village, thanks to their babysitters' effort to guide them through the many districts inside the village and they even pointed out important buildings for the triplets, such as the hospital, the academy, the Military Police Force, the archive library, the aviary, the Jōnin Standby Station and the Konoha Intelligence Division. During their tour around Konoha, the triplets befriended their babysitters; with the exception of Jiraiya who more than often left the triplets alone to spy at the Hot Springs. Their babysitters, Yuuhi Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko, Might Guy, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi are all like the triplets merely because the Uzumakis are different from any foreign ninjas who have come to their village before. 

The triplets are steadily falling in love with Konoha and the six shinobi believe the triplets would not harm Konoha in any way as they are willing to move out of their own village to live at Konoha for the sake of one clan member.

That day was cloudy and windy and because of the weather, Jiraiya told the triplets' babysitters that he wanted them to bring the triplets to the training ground 3. When they arrived at the said training ground, the older man was already waiting for them and gestured the slab of stone behind him with a wave of his hand.

"And this is the memorial stone." He said, and the others curiously noted how the triplets became tense once they heard the word of 'memorial'. They just stare at the slab of stone for a moment before Yōou moved.

"Excuse me for a minute!" Yōou's shout made the others jump as she becomes a red blur, passing them and running back to the village. The others just watch her retreating figure as she used shunshin to get to wherever she's heading to. "You just had to tell the others to bring us here without letting us bought things to pay our respects properly. Is this some sort of a nasty surprise you have planned for us, Toad Sage?"

Shōhei's colder-than-winter tone made everyone realised how important it is for the triplets. For the next ten minutes, the others sans the Uzumaki brothers sat down under the trees so they won't disturb them while said two brothers stood side by side when their older twin sister shunshin back to the training ground with a big bouquet of red and yellow flowers.

"Ready, brothers?" Yōou's voice was gentle and it was a new tone from the cheerful and snarky Uzumaki which made others watch the triplets with curiosity.

Together, the triplets walk towards the memorial stone and Yōou place the bouquet in front of it. Silence filled the training ground for a moment before the Uzumaki trio greets the slab of stone as if they can see the ones they greet standing in front of them. "Hello aunt Kushina, uncle Minato." The triplets speak in unison before Hikaru chuckled, his voice void of his cheerfulness. "Never thought the second time we'd met would be us standing in front of a memorial stone in Konoha and stare at your names carved onto it and learnt the fact that you both already died for four years."

"...The whole clan felt different conflicting emotions at once, you know? When we heard about the tragedy, we mourned for you. When we heard about your child and his situation, we felt immense anger and sadness. We are angry at those ignorant people for thinking they are the only victims here when they are not the baby who becomes a human sacrifice for the strongest tailed beast out of nine, they are also not the same baby whose parents sacrificed their lives to save the village from any more damage. We know and understand the pain of losing someone important but that does not give them the right to try to kill Naruto daily."

If Shōhei's words toward Jiraiya was colder than winter before, his words at that moment were like a chilling wind that was capable of froze someone to the bones. The Konoha shinobi, even the ANBU shadowing the triplets flinched at the cold tone and the small burst of killing intent coming from Shōhei. Jiraiya remembered the Third Hokage told him that the triplets are said to be jōnin rank shinobi by their father. From the small burst Shōhei just released, he can, begrudgingly, admit that the triplets might as well a jōnin rank shinobi.

"We were sad because we hadn't been with him from day one. In fact, if we had evacuated to Konoha when Uzushio was destroyed, perhaps that tragedy wouldn't even happen and Naruto wouldn't become an orphan in the first place."

Some gasps as Yōou begin her monologue, some who didn't let out their voice made it known by the fluctuations of their chakra. The triplets had made it known that they are sensors to their babysitters and shadows. The twin sister of the triplets even told their shadows to hide their chakra and presence better because apparently, she can detect them without even trying.

"But life never went the way we wanted because no one changes its course and there is no one who can predict how life would turn out. But I'm not here to talk about life, I have enough with life which seems love to torture my soon-to-be-little-brother." Yōou's chuckled an empty one before she continues her monologue. "From the story I have heard from father and everyone else who survived the destruction, aunt Kushina, you were the one who told the clan to hide. Because if Uzumaki clan were to evacuate to Konoha, the possibility of those who destroy our homeland to stop their destruction is close to nonexistent. They would think it as the chance to destroy Konoha, its shinobi clans and Uzumaki in one go. It was either both village destroyed or us hiding from the rest of the world, and it was an easy choice, too. Father took the surviving clan members and anyone from the Land of Whirlpool who were willing to follow him to the land the Daimyo of Fire gave to the First Uzukage for his help during the First Shinobi World War. You and uncle Minato have been there before, it's a beautiful place and we are thriving.

There was this plan, made by father and your older siblings; for our whole family, the whole main family to visit Konoha once Naruto was born, to let Konoha know that we survived, that we still exist. They were waiting for the news to be delivered by you from the communication scroll father gave you when you moved to Konoha. We waited for it so we can finally see the village you both loved so much. During these four years, we thought you both are so busy with Naruto, the village and your occupation as shinobi. We never knew it was....this."

Yōou took a shuddering breath as she pauses her monologue, trying her best to control her raging emotions before it took hold of her because all she wanted to do at the moment was to scream at the unfairness of life. The others: her babysitters and shadows didn't do much besides discreetly watching her and her twin brothers. They did have a longer time to mourn, after all.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, had his right hand on his face, _It was not an act of preserving their clan,_ Jiraiya thought with sudden clarity as Yōou's monologue to the memorial that has her aunt's and uncle's names carved onto it stopped. Heart-wrenching sobs that contain so much sadness shook Jiraiya from his musing. Glancing down to the triplets from the tree which branch he took as a seat, he saw Shōhei and Hikaru took each of their sister's hands and hold it tightly. The sobs didn't continue but sniffles and gasps came from Yōou's trembling figure.

It took Yōou several minutes to calm down and with a sigh, the monologue continued. "As for you, uncle Minato, I gave you that communication scroll so you can get me if there's a dire emergency and you needed me there; for example, the Kyuubi escaping from his seal! I told you months before Naruto's birth; that I was the next vessel for the Kyuubi!"

This time, no one made a sound but their shock and silence were louder than anything at the moment; the triplets paid no mind about the silence and continued on. "I have both the Yin and Yang chakra which would allow me to handle the Kyuubi better. I also told you that Kyuubi always has two perfect vessels which all comes from Uzumaki clan. First, it was great grandfather who you would call as grandfather in law and his youngest sister, Mito-sama. Great grandfather was already the First Uzukage way before the time of the war between Hashirama-sama and Madara and Mito-sama saw it as her duty as an Uzumaki as well as a Senju and the wife of First Hokage to seal the tailed beast and bring power to Konoha."

Jiraiya has been wondering since Yōou's monologue started, _is it okay to reveal this much? The ANBU are loyal to Hokage but what if..._

That particular question of his remain unanswered as Yōou continued releasing her frustration to his late student, not out of spite, though, as there's no hate in her tone, just pure frustration. "And then, the second pair of perfect vessels! Father and aunt Kushina. By the time aunt Kushina was born, I heard father was already the head of the clan as well as the Third Uzukage. It wasn't even ideal for aunt Kushina to even moved to Konoha without a single family member accompanying her. She never told you this, has she? You can ask her for confirmation later when you see her at the Pure Lands as I will tell you, just so I can get this out of my system."

Yōou huffed and cracked her fingers in anger, at what, no one knows but the Uzumaki triplets who are fuming at what they were angry at, Shohei even growled! "Okay, to start with, Uzumaki clan has been the ruling clan of Uzu no Kuni for as long as the history goes. We don't have any Daimyos at Uzu no Kuni as all those things are taken care of by the Uzukage. Unlike the Kage system of the Great Five Elemental Nations, Uzukage is a title that merges three roles into one; the head of the clan, the head of the land as well as the leader of the shinobi in Uzu no Kuni. Because that role is very tiring, the Uzukage's siblings often help with the management. And if I remember correctly, great grandfather was called "Lord of Uzu" before he was known as First Uzukage. The title is also handed down from generation to generation. So, you can guess how did father get his title as the Third Uzukage. That should clear your confusion why the clan's branch families were very adamant on calling you Minato-sama."

It amazes everyone present at the training ground that Yōou can quickly move from angry to teasing. It's also clear to them that the triplets are reminiscing something pleasant as they start to chuckle; unlike their previous empty chuckles, this one is filled with fondness, as if they are remembering fond memories. "I still have the photos of that time you gawked at the wedding ceremony the main family had organised for you, in one day. It was the first wedding ceremony we ever seen in our lives and it was memorable. There are two albums just for that weekend!" Hikaru fondly exclaimed before his expression darkened, his smile turning into a dark smirk, "You might don't know this, but at that time, we find out the possible traitor who help the other villages and nations invading Uzu no Kuni. Uzu no Kuni was protected by layers of kekkai-jutsu that was created from a seal that collects nature energy. The whirlpools around the island were also created using a similar seal, some are natural whirlpools. Father had his suspicions of a traitor who assisted the invading army to breached all of those I mentioned. However, because he and grandfather lacked evidence, they cannot punish the traitor, until you and aunt Kushina arrived at Uzuha with us six years ago."

"Our meeting was pure coincidence; both of you happened to return from your mission while we were returning from our artefacts retrieval mission. If it weren't for Hikaru who saw you both and recognised aunt Kushina, our meeting may don't happen." Shōhei snorted, "What is the point of all this, you ask? We're about to reveal it, uncle. So, as I was saying, it was thanks to Hikaru who recognise you both and thanks to father who somehow sent aunt Kushina a picture of us that she was able to recognise us as well. I know you were reluctant to follow us back to Uzuha yet you cannot refuse aunt Kushina's puppy eyes as she asked you to come with her to where her family resided. Just like Hikaru said, the clan was very happy for your relationship with aunt Kushina; so happy that the blessing was immediately given to you. At the time, the three of us were confused why father and grandfather gave their blessings without testing you, uncle. Until we found out the truth why aunt Kushina went to Konoha alone."

Yōou, who was silent to let her twin brothers told their tale, sighs as said twin brothers growled and not continuing their tale. "We found out that the outer council conspired with the traitor to sent aunt Kushina to Konoha a lot quicker than the plan father had made with the Hokage. She might be the youngest, but she was still the daughter of the Second Uzukage; a member of the main family are considered as royalty to Uzu no Kuni yet the outer council sent her off without consulting the inner council and the Uzukage, which sparked the wrath of the Second and Third Uzukage. Right after you both returned to Konoha, escorted by father and their siblings, grandfather gave the three of us a reconnaissance mission. He wants us to find all evidence of the traitor's deal with the invading army. Long story short, the traitor was a mistress to the First Uzukage. She was unsatisfied with her position as she was not the legal wife to great grandfather. The outer council pushed him into marrying her, despite him already having a wife and have six children and threatened his family if he didn't marry her. They also attempted to renounce great grandmother's position as the wife of First Uzukage so the mistress can take that position but...let's say great grandfather made them bite their own fingers, quite literally."

"Hmph, as if they can make him indulge their whims any longer than that." Shōhei and Hikaru muttered under their breath but Yōou ignored them and continue the tale. "The pieces of evidence we found at her house were undeniable proof that she messed with the seals on the barrier and whirlpools during the invasion and she was paid with a hefty sum of ryo which still sitting inside her safe. Fortunately for us, she never took the money off of its container and said container has the emblem of villages. We also found a list of stolen artefacts in that safe. It was all planned by her. She was extremely envious of great grandmother and her children and because her becoming an Uzumaki was through bribery and intimidation which mean not honourable in our eyes, she was never accepted in the clan. Her status as the mistress of First Uzukage was the only thing protecting her from being exiled or executed. But that cannot protect her from being executed for attempting to sell aunt Kushina to Kumo, assassination attempts on every great-grandchild of First Uzukage and for betraying the country. If there is one thing Uzumaki clan hate, then that'd be a betrayal."

Releasing a growl from the depth of her chest, lightning chakra crackled on both of Yōou's palms and the redhead girl took a deep breath to calm herself. "The list of stolen artefacts were immediately used to plan artefacts retrieval missions. Most of the important ones were already within the clan's treasury and it won't be long before we took them all to its rightful place. My last mission was to retrieve a deadly artefact that sucks the blood out of its user. Kumo lost a group of ninja when I arrived; not because I killed them but because the artefact sucks their blood dry. It can only respond to Uzumaki blood and if someone else attempted to use it, it'll suck their blood dry; gruesome, I know. But Uzumaki ancestors who made these artefacts only had the clan in their mind."

"Okay, Uzumaki brats, pause."

The triplets turned around as Jiraiya jumped down from the tree branch and walked towards them. When he's close enough, he grabbed Yōou's shoulders, "Yōou, are you the one who infiltrate Kumo, took the artefact and while in process of doing that, caused an uproar, face the Fourth Raikage and their two jinchūrikis? On top of all that, you were able to get away from them without difficulties?"

"Well, yes, that was me. Why do you ask?"

"Did you know you made chaos at Kumo!? The Raikage put a bounty over your head for that stunt you did! Who knows what he'd do if he got the news that a Konoha shinobi is the one who sneaks into his village and made an uproar there."

Jiraiya shook Yōou hard, Konoha still suffered the damage from Third Shinobi World War and Kyuubi's attack. If Kumo decided to attack them in near future...

"Could you please let me go, Jiraiya-sama?" Surprised at Yōou's calm tone, Jiraiya released the girl's shoulders and realised that his grip had nearly torn Yōou's jacket apart. "Ah, sorry about that." He apologized.

"It's fine. Your grip was strong and I can sense a slight bruise forming but I have endured worse. Anyway, the issue with Raikage, I have it covered."

"What?"

"Yes, I have it covered. As you said, Jiraiya-sama, Fourth Raikage placed a bounty on the head of the thief that stole their precious artefact and killed fifteen of their best ninja. He would be the idiot for trying to pursue the owner of the artefact that if weren't retrieved at that very moment, it would suck the blood of every ninja that touches it."

Unable to keep his mouth shut, Jiraiya asked what exactly that deadly artefact for; he expected the triplets to be gloomy about it as he had just asked a clan secret, he did not expect Yōou to laugh out loud. "You want to know what the artefact for? That artefact is shaped like a small wooden chest and it produced a blood kekkai, designed to protect other artefacts from falling to wrong hands. It can be activated and deactivated by Uzumaki blood; if the one activating it hailed from the main family, it'll be better for everyone. But if someone, who didn't belong to Uzumaki clan, trying to activate the artefact by force, it will suck blood until it's full of chakra it needed to create the kekkai."

Silence filled the training ground as Yōou finished explaining what the artefact exists for until Anko chimes in. "Yōou-chan, how much blood does Uzumaki clan members have to sacrifice for that artefact and how long it'll last?"

"If someone from branch families activates it, the kekkai will last for about three decades, and it'll be constantly monitored. Because it contains other artefacts, the kekkai have to be stable enough to not only repel those with evil intention but anyone else that is not the one who activates it as well. Usually, a branch family's member would have to sacrifice two litres of fresh blood by letting it suck the blood. For us main family members, we only sacrifice a litre of fresh blood for a kekkai that can last seven to eight decades. Because of the kekkai's nature, the one who activates it have to possess advanced kekkai-jutsu knowledge."

"...Yōou-san, you said you already have it covered about the issue with Raikage, what do you mean by that? Surely Raikage would not come to that conclusion as you said about the artefact killing his shinobi unless you leave something at Kumo."

Yōou's blood-red eyes stare at the swirling tomoe of sharingan on both Uchiha boys, seemingly looking for something, before she shrugged, "There was a passive seal active on the artefact when I retrieved it. Upon closer inspection, it was my grandfather's creation. The seal meant to record image, sound, everything happened to anything it attached to upon activation and when the seal is put somewhere else like a wall, it will become some kind of projector that will show what happened to the artefact. I have my suspicion what they were trying to do with the artefact until the seal I placed on the wall of the room filled with corpses drained of blood proves that I was right. They had thought the artefact was some kind of destruction device or one that will make them invincible and they panicked when it started to suck their blood. There was one man who still alive when I got there. He begged me to stop the artefact and spare his life."

"And did you?"

"I was going to spare his life, Itachi-kun, but the artefact sucks his blood before I can even deactivate it. After sealing the artefact, I place the passive seal on the wall and feed enough chakra onto it so it'll show how the tragedy happened for about a hundred times before it self destruct."

"Self destruct? You can make seals self destruct?"

"Self destruct function on seals usually placed on personal creations. That way, enemies won't be able to analyse it and to keep clan members from copying the seal. It's an unspoken rule of Uzumaki clan; share what creation you choose to share. I only recognise the seal because I'm familiar with my grandfather's handwriting." She explained.

Having enough information about the artefact, Jiraiya decided to steer the topic away from the deadly yet simple ancient tool. "...Yōou, you said you are the perfect vessel for Kyuubi and the fact that Uzumaki clan always have two perfect vessels. Who is the second perfect vessel?"

The triplets look at Jiraiya with an expression that seems to say, are you an idiot? With an exaggerated sigh, Yōou answered Jiraiya's question. "Isn't it obvious? Naruto is the second perfect vessel. It's only been four years but when I saw him, I was able to sense his chakra and it shows no corruption from the malice of Kyuubi's chakra. If he wasn't compatible, no matter how strong the seal placed on him, Kyuubi's chakra will escape from the seal on a small amount to start the corruption. The fact that it didn't happen, not even a bit, shows how compatible Naruto is to Kyuubi. Anyway, why did you brought us here, Jiraiya-sama?"

Noticing the change of topic and how the triplets walk away from the memorial stone, Jiraiya shrugged, "Well, tomorrow is your last day of touring the village as the day after tomorrow, your tests will begin. Why not use the last of your leisure time to train?"

The predatory glint reflected on the triplets' eyes made others shiver involuntary. _This can't be good_ , they thought.

* * *

On the first day of the second week, the Uzumaki triplets found themselves inside Konoha Interrogation Division for quick interrogation. They didn't like it, but it was a procedure they had to go through. Yōou had to hold her inner beast up so it won't kill the Yamanaka who invade her head and went through her memories. When the interrogation session was done, it's already sunset and they were starving.

"I suggest we eat ramen," Yōou said to her brothers who agreed with her. The triplets immediately marched to their destination, eager to fill their empty stomach. Once they arrive at their destination, they immediately order a bowl of ramen for each of them; shio for Yōou, miso for Shōhei and Hikaru.

The triplets finished three bowls each before they pay for their meals and excused themselves. "So, where do we go now? The mental exhaustion we suffered makes me want to eat something." Hikaru rubbed his stomach, still hungry despite eating three bowls of ramen.

"You still want to eat, Hikaru? I'd rather drink tea than have to eat heavily seasoned food. The ramen was delicious, though." Instead of his stomach, Shōhei rubbed his throat and they start to argue with each other while walking through the street. Yōou, who always in the middle, to be the voice of reason, had to deal with her brothers until she can't take it any longer.

With a tiny bit of chakra, she allows her nails to grow a little sharper than usual and pricked the ears of her brothers, effectively stunning her brothers into silence. "Quit your squabbling, boys. Now, let's find some bread and see if the hotel kitchen will let us brew some tea."

Knowing that trying to budge Yōou while she's determined about something is futile, the triplets walk once again with their destination in mind until one of their shadows appear and told them that the Hokage expect Yōou in his office. With a sigh, Yōou thanked the ANBU and before she made her way towards Hokage Tower, she gave her brothers the money they would need to buy the bread and a package of tea. With a flash of shunshin, she arrived in front of Hokage's office's door and knocked.

"Enter," came Hokage's reply from inside of the office. Yōou takes a deep breath before she enters, _No doubt this summons must be about the interrogation_ , she thought. _Whatever Hokage wish to know about what he discovered from the interrogation, I just have to answer it to my best_.

"You summoned me, Sandaime-sama?"

"Hello, daughter."

 _Wait a minute, that voice!_ Yōou thought as her eyes swipe across the office and sure enough, a man who looks in his thirties with the same shade of hair colour and eyes as hers stood a little bit on the side of Hokage's desk along with a woman in her late twenties who also possess the same shade of red hair like her and the man but she has sky blue eyes. The woman waved at Yōou while the man only watched her with an amused expression.

A rush of annoyance run through Yōou at the man's expression. A subtle growl escapes Yōou's lips, "Hello to you, too, father." Yōou inserts as much annoyance she can into her voice as she greeted her father before she angled her body to properly greet the woman, this time, her voice full of warmth. "Ah, mother. It's been a while, isn't it?"

Yōou's mother chuckled, seemingly entertained by the display of disrespect her daughter shows to said daughter's own father, _he must have done something to blow her short fuse_ , she thought before answering Yōou's greeting. "Indeed it is, Ouka. It's been a month, I should have ended my mission faster if I had known about this."

"Ouka? I thought your name is Yōou?"

The Uzumaki family in the office look at the Hokage and before Yōou can answer his question, someone beat her to it. "'Yōou' is a name given to her by my grandfather, the First Uzukage and everyone else calls her by that name. I, her father, on the other hand, had prepared a name for her and gave her 'Ouka'. Those who still alive from the reign of my father, the Second Uzukage and those of my own calls my daughter with the name I gave her. I suppose the only one from the older generation who calls her by 'Yōou' is my grandfather."

"I see. So, about what we were talking about... Yōou, Sakuto-dono here told me you are the heiress to your clan and it's only right if you are included in this discussion. What do you think if a quarter of Uzumaki clan migrated to Konoha to ensure the protection over Naruto? The council will be fighting over your decisions regarding Naruto if there are only three of you in Konoha. But if there are at least fifty of you..."

The three adults inside the office await for Yōou's answer as she thinks about the suggestion made by her father and the Hokage. _No doubt they have been talking about this_ , she mused before staring straight at Hiruzen's eyes. "First thing first, I want to know if mother has isolated us inside her time and space kekkai."

The woman in question nodded, "From the moment you entered the office, Ouka."

"And there's only five of us here?"

Hiruzen perked up at that, the triplets' babysitters told him that Yōou is a sensor and had told the ANBU that shadows her and her brothers how to almost completely conceal their chakra. "You can still sense them? I thought you taught them how to conceal their chakra." He asked the red-headed young kunoichi who gives him a toothy grin.

"Sandaime-sama, I shall tell you one of my secrets. I am a sensor, yes, and normally a sensor won't be able to sense Hound who is already concealing his chakra, however, he can't conceal his scent, can he?" Yōou tilted her head to the side and her eyes glinted with amusements at the slight spike of Hound's chakra and Hiruzen's widening eyes.

"You're a tracker?"

"Yes, I am. My nose has been sensitive for as long as I can remember. In fact, if I put enough chakra into my nose, I can smell jutsus."

"...Is this part of your unspoken rule about sharing things?"

Yōou gave another grin at Hiruzen who only sighs and mutters something about, "Uzumaki and their mystery," which made her chuckles. _So, they have been wondering about us, huh?_ She mused, amused by Konoha's curiosity about them.

A deliberate cough came from Sakuto who eyed his daughter with a look that says, *you still have a question to answer* which she replies by rolling her eyes at him. "I wouldn't mind having more clan members in Konoha, but, Sandaime-sama, fifty people doesn't even cover a quarter of Uzumaki clan and how do we find a property that will fit all of us in such short notice?"

"But you agree with the number of people?"

"If we can have an estate big enough to accommodate fifty people without feeling cramped, then, yes, I do agree with the number of people."

It was then Yōou realised Hiruzen and her father are sharing an evil smirk, even her mother is giggling about something. _Hmm, suspicious_ , she thought as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Is there something I'm missing here?" Knowing her father, he must be withholding another information from her.

"Uzumaki clan has a property here in Konoha, Yōou," Hiruzen starts, amused that the girl who always described as cool-headed kunoichi by her babysitters currently has her jaw on the floor. "Senju clan gave Mito-sama a patch of land behind Hokage Rock and she sent the land certificate to Uzumaki clan for the hopes that at least half of them will be part of Konoha in the future. The property consists of an estate that is capable to housed twenty people, several houses for six-member families, an armoury, a dojo, a blacksmith workshop and some other buildings that I forgot for it's been a while since I saw it. The first Hokage came up with the idea and the Second Hokage built it. It has been hidden inside a barrier until a week ago and the repairing is going well because I made it into several missions: B rank missions."

At some point, Yōou picked her jaw from the floor and her expression changed to one would have in a serious discussion. "And I take it our clan pay for the missions, yes?"

"Of course not. Konoha will pay for it."

"Actually, Hokage-sama, I think it'll be best if we pay for the missions. Right now, we are nothing but an old ally to Konoha and we are basically hiring Konoha shinobi to fix our property. It makes sense if we pay for the missions."

The old Hokage watched as Yōou's mother, who introduced herself to him earlier as Uzumaki Kanami, presents him a scroll with gold kanji on it. "Inside this scroll is the money equivalent to S rank mission payment. I'm sure that will be enough to pay for the missions as well as construction materials and everything else."

"...Are you sure about it?"

"Yes, despite being a small village, we are quite prosperous, economically. Besides, this money is taken from the clan's wealth." Kanami ensured, her smile never leaves her face.

Nodding, the Hokage took the scroll and set it amongst his paperwork's. "Do any of you decided who will be moving to Konoha? I don't think leaving the triplets and Naruto in such a big place by themselves is a good idea."

The two Uzumaki adults look at each other before glancing at their daughter. "We will let our daughter decide, she is the head of the clan while in Konoha, after all."

Said daughter's head snapped to the direction of her parents, staring at them for a moment before nodding. "If you say so, father, then, my choices are..."

* * *

It was decided that Hikaru will be tested first, and then Shōhei and lastly, Yōou. The blood-red eyed Uzumaki raised her brows at this decision but she just shrugged about it when her twin brothers realised the reason why she was the last one to be tested.

Hikaru's opponent, a Hyuuga jōnin, made things difficult for the red-headed teenager as every trap he made by his seal was disarmed. _I can't use taijutsu on him, if I got too close, he'll strike my tenketsu points. Genjutsu is out of question; he's an ally, not an enemy. I shouldn't torture an ally. So, that leaves me with ninjutsu and seals. I laid a lot of trap seals, and he disarms all but one. I can use that..._ Hikaru thought as he creates his plan.

As he finalises his plan, he mentally chuckled, _This is fun!_ He thought as he made the hand seals for the jutsu he's going to use. "Doton, Earth Flow River!" Slamming down his palm to the earth, Hikaru's opponent reacted too late and before he knew it, his feet are covered in a knee-high mud pit.

Seeing his opponent trapped, Hikaru uses another jutsu. "Suiton, water dragon bullets!" Producing water from his own chakra, Hikaru's jutsu formed into a water dragon and attacked his opponent but the dragon got reflected by said opponent who manages to free his feet. By the time the jutsu his Hyuuga opponent use to reflect the water dragon stopped, the mud around him already dispersed.

"You finally start to get serious, boy?" The Hyuuga jōnin asked, his tone mocking.

"Of course! A predator often plays with its prey but it also knows when to dive in for the killing bite. Shall we finish this?" With a puff of smoke, a fan appears on Hikaru's hand and with a snap of his wrist, he unfurls the fan and made a sweeping motion. "Fuuton, Tornado Whirlwind Blades."

A tornado whirlwinds formed and steadily make it's way to the Hyuuga jōnin, the noise coming from the tornado alarmingly sounds like blades clinking with each other. The mud from before also seems to be sliced when the tornado pulls it in. "Hyuuga-san, I think it's fair to warn you! This jutsu turns the wind of the tornado into blades and it'll shred you apart if you don't avoid it!"

Hikaru's warning made the jōnin to leapt backwards and straight into Hikaru's remaining trap seal. Once the Hyuuga jōnin stepped into the seal, it encased him in a lightning barrier. Hikaru's opponent look fearfully at the advancing tornado and took an unconscious backwards step and dumbfounded when said tornado dispersed into a breeze.

"I caught you~" Hikaru singsong as he deactivates the seal.

"Wh-wha..."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, Hyuuga-san. If I was, I wouldn't use this." Showing the closed fan and with a puff of smoke, it returned to a storage seal it came from.

"...It was a good battle, Uzumaki-kun." The Hyuuga jōnin offered his hand for the seal of reconciliation which Hikaru complied. "Likewise, Hyuuga-san."

* * *

Shōhei's opponent was an Uchiha who resembles Itachi a lot and their fight ends with Shōhei cornering him with various Suiton jutsus into a chakra draining seals. The silent Uzumaki stay true to his character during the battle, he didn't speak nor taunting. It was only after the seal of reconciliation was done by both parties did he speak, "It was a good fight, Uchiha-san."

Both of them didn't linger too long at the arena as the next fight will begin soon. On their way to the stands, Shōhei and the Uchiha who reveals himself as Itachi's father saw Yōou leaning on the wall with her eyes closed.

"Aneue," Shōhei walks towards his sister as Itachi's father resume climbing the stairs.

"Done with your battle, brother?" She asked, opening her blood-red eyes as she straightens her posture.

Shōhei nodded as he watches his sister check her weapon pouch and braided her long hair so it won't be in her way while she fights her opponent. "Aneue."

"Hmm?"

"Please don't destroy anything."

Yōou's blood-red eyes watched Shōhei for a moment before a smile appears, "I'll try not to, brother."

 _As long as you try, it's enough for me_ , Shōhei thought as he continues his ascend to the stands, leaving his sister who waits for her name to be called. He joined Hikaru who is leaning on the railing, excitement for the next battle apparent by the way he fidgets. Their babysitters --friends-- and shadows who are watching from the roof of the stands are all the same.

"Did you see Yō-nee?" Hikaru asked as Shōhei stands beside him.

"I did, and she said she'll try not to destroy anything."

Hikaru released a sigh of relief and Shōhei can relate, they spend all of their lives with their sister and they know how disastrous she can be. Their friends, however, did not share the same thought.

"Did you just basically told your sister to hold back? Her opponent won't like that." Anko chimed in, she knows how dangerous Yōou's opponent can be when he distrust someone.

The two brothers of Uzumaki triplets look at Anko with a serious look. "There is a reason why Aneue was chosen to be a vessel. Not only she has the power to suppress the beast, she also possessed an unknown affinity that only the First Uzukage and our father possessed before we were born. That affinity increased a jutsu's destruction power and because of our chakra reserves, most of our jutsus are destructive." Shōhei explained as their friends begin to pale at the implications, except for one person.

"Don't you guys worry, that guy will put up a fight against our Bloody Princess of Destruction !"

At his exclaim, everyone looks at him with a look that says, *really?*

After a moment of staring, Hikaru exploded into a fit of laughter, "Bloody Princess of Destruction? That's a nice nickname! Yō-nee will like it for sure! Nice, Gai-san!"

Shōhei sighs as Gai gives Hikaru a thumb's up. _Gai-san didn't even know how accurate that nickname is_ , he thought as the Hokage called for Yōou's name and her opponent's.

"Uzumaki Yōou, Hatake Kakashi! Come forward!"

Shōhei shared a look with Hikaru when they heard the name of their sister's opponent. Without even saying anything to each other, they both know, that this battle will be interesting to watch.

* * *

Yōou had to restrain her expression from breaking into a toothy grin. In fact, she wants to open her mouth and cackles like a madwoman. She had heard his name several times before. The first time was her uncle in law mentioned his name to her when their family revealed to him which clans they have close relation with; other times was when she has missions outside Hi no Kuni. He was quite famous, after all.

Yōou had wanted to fight him at least once and the Hokage just give that opportunity to her! Excitement filled her being and she took a deep breath, it won't do well for her if she got too excited. Her excitement held in the bay, Yōou entered the arena and she took in the young man's appearance as she walks to where he is, in the middle of the arena.

 _Silver hair, charcoal grey eyes, forehead protector tilted to hide his left eyes, and masked. Yup, it's definitely the last Hatake_ , Yōou thought. Minato had told her about his last remaining student. Yōou have her own suspicion about the Hound ANBU, not because she had seen him, but because of his chakra and scent. Only Hatake clan member possess white lightning chakra and has the scent of wolves underneath the scent of dogs.

Yōou knows she's openly staring at her opponent but he's doing the same. The two of them still staring at each other even when they do the seal of confrontation. Right after the Hokage signalled the beginning of the battle, both of them leapt away from each other. 

They both circling on each other at a distance, like a pair of predators eyeing their opponents. For a moment, both Yōou and her opponent stills and then, with their fists raised, they lunged at each other.

They both are relentless with their taijutsu and after several minutes hand-to-hand combat, Yōou's opponent leapt away from her roundhouse kick which she followed, to make more distance between them. During their taijutsu battle, her opponent didn't use what he's famous for, but, as soon as he leapt away from her, he tugged his forehead protector out of his left eye, revealing the red eyes with swirling tomoes.

A grin finally broke out of Yōou's stoic expression. _Time to get a little serious,_ she thought as excitement filled her being once again. This time, however, she didn't bother to calm herself down.

Seeing as her opponent still not making his move, Yōou decided to make the first move as her hands formed the hand seals. "Suiton, Water Bullet Technique!" Expelling a large and concentrated amount of water from inside her, Yōou chased her opponent who dodges her attack, effectively making a lot of puddles inside the arena.

Yōou's opponent, Kakashi, was shocked at the amount of water she produced. He knows her chakra reserves is bigger than anyone in Konoha at the moment but this level of producing water is just ridiculous!

With a surge of chakra, he raised an earth wall, stopping Yōou's water jutsu and planned his attack. _She knows my chakra signature as well as my scent. I have to make her bring out another high-level jutsu if I want to slightly drain her reserves. She's obviously a wind and water user, I have seen her playing with the wind to make a small and harmless whirlwind in the park._ And those puddles from her water jutsu, she just gave him an advantage against herself.

"Fuuton, Great Breakthrough!"

The earth wall shattered against harsh winds, forcing Kakashi to leapt away. As the wind died, Kakashi quickly sent out a kunai coated in lightning chakra towards the biggest puddle and as the water was created from chakra, the electricity from the lightning chakra spread out to the other puddles, creating a field of crackling lightning.

Kakashi watches as Yōou silently assessed her situation before she grinned a dark one. What happened next, shocked everyone else in the arena.

A white lightning chakra, almost the same as Kakashi's, coated Yōou's hands. The red-headed kunoichi slammed her palms together and the lightning chakra fades. She then points her forefinger at Kakashi and sensing danger, he put on a defensive stance.

"Raiton, White Lightning."

A small yet heavily concentrated lightning bolt fired from Yōou's fingertip, coming at Kakashi in high speed. If it's not for his left eye, he won't be able to dodge the attack.

The moment Kakashi regained his bearing, dozens of chains with pointy ends, made of water, come at them with the same high speed like the lightning bolt and stopped in front of his face. He noticed the chains have electricity on it and realised that the chains are made from the puddles.

"You're quite unpredictable, aren't you?" He asked as the chains vapours into the air.

Yōou only grins at him as they walk toward each other and offer the seal of reconciliation to each other. "It's in the blood, Hatake-san."

"No need to be so formal, I'm only older than you for four years."

"Kakashi-san, then."

* * *

The Hokage, who has been watching the battles from the stands along with the parents of said triplets, is speechless. The triplets, despite their young age, shows excellent assets as a ninja. But what shocked him the most is Yōou's white chakra.

"What in the world..."

Behind him, Sakuto laughed, _my daughter truly gives them the shock of their life,_ he thought as his wife jabbed his ribs for laughing at Konoha shinobi's shock. He knows what the Hokage is thinking as well as his questions. But he won't reveal anything to the Hokage out in the open. There are eyes and ears in the arena and he knows the elders are watching his children's battles. _It's not the right time_ , he decided.

The Third Hokage then dismissed everyone from the arena and called the triplets to his office along with their parents. Once they are there, he dismissed all of his Anbu guards and nodded to Kanami who then isolated them inside her time and space kekkai-jutsu.

"Now, I believe you have an explanation for me, Sakuto-dono. How in the world did Yōou manage to possess white chakra? To my knowledge, only those who belong to the Hatake clan has that chakra."

"Indeed, it belongs only to Hatake clan," Sakuto nodded, agreeing with the Hokage. "However, the Senju clan was not the only clan we have close relation with. You see, my grandmother, the wife of First Uzukage was a daughter of Hatake clan's head. Her genes is strong enough to last for three generations of her offsprings. That's how Yōou got her lightning chakra affinity in the first place."

"That explains a lot. And did you sent her here to marry the last Hatake besides caring for Naruto?" Hiruzen had to ask, he need to know what exactly is inside Sakuto's head when he sent his daughter to Konoha.

"Of course not. My daughter is betrothed to her cousin and they both are very committed to each other. I value my life, Hiruzen-dono. If I even dare to try to break them apart, she'd kill me."

"Oh, please, father. I won't do that. I'll just make your life miserable. Unless you married him off to another woman, then, I'll kill you for sure." Yōou claimed, not even denying that she will kill her father.

Hiruzen's eyes widened as he heard what Yōou to her father. Is her betrothed truly that important for her to kill her father if he breaks them apart? He wondered, not realising that he said it out loud.

"Yes, he is important to me. And also, Sandaime-sama, please do not tell Kakashi-san about us being distantly related. I want to make it a surprise, if he didn't realise it himself, though."

Hiruzen didn't think it's that hard to connect the dots but nevertheless, he nodded at Yōou's request. He then retrieved a scroll and handed it to Yōou who look at the scroll and then back at him.

"Sandaime-sama, is this...?"

"Congratulations, triplets. You are now a Konoha shinobi and jōnin. And you can start visiting Naruto at the orphanage until Uzumaki clan property is ready."

The unadulterated joy exudes from the triplets makes him smile kindly at them. Yes, this is the best decision he had made for the boy. He deserves a family that will love him for who he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcanon about Uzumaki clan is that they are a very old clan that exists even during the time of Rikudo Sennin. Their relation to Senju comes from a member of the main family married a granddaughter of Otsutsuki Asura, thus introducing Asura's genes into their own
> 
> There are also divine beings in this world but due to their mistake of slaying the nature and chaos god, they were driven into hiding when Kaguya eat the fruit from World Tree. 
> 
> OC introduction:  
> Name: Uzumaki Sakuto  
> Origin: Uzu no Kuni  
> Clan: Uzumaki  
> Age: 56 years old (physically looks 30 years old)  
> Height: 210cm/6,88ft  
> Weight: 86kg  
> Position: Former Third Uzukage of Uzushio, the current head of Uzuha Village and the 122nd head of Uzumaki clan.  
> Siblings: Eight younger siblings with Kushina as the youngest.  
> Chakra affinity: Wind, water, fire, ying and yang affinities as well as an unknown affinity.  
> Appearance: Sakuto has slightly spiky blood-red hair and almond-shaped blood-red eyes along with an intimidating aura to him. He wore traditional Japanese robes with Uzumaki mon at home and a similar standard shinobi outfit with Konoha's and dark red flak jacket due to the land Uzuha Village is situated is hidden inside a forest of trees with red leaves. His former title is imprinted on his flak jacket and he hid it with a cloak when he came to Konoha.
> 
> Personality: According to his triplets, he is scary which is not an overstatement. He is a serious man who has a soft spot towards his wife yet strict towards his children, siblings and clan members. Despite his seriousness, he likes to tease his children and more than often likes to mess with his oldest daughter, knowing she has the most satisfying reaction to his teasing. Toward his enemies, he is merciless and cold-blooded. He is respectful toward people of status; whether or not he personally respect them is a secret.
> 
> Ability: Due to his status as former Uzukage and a perfect vessel for Kyuubi no Kitsune along with his youngest sister, Sakuto has larger chakra reserves than most of Uzumaki clan members. He is a seal master whose jutsus are mostly offensive with his defensive jutsu mostly kekkai-jutsu. His chakra reserves prevent him from completely mastering basic jutsus such as bunshin, kawarimi and henge despite his perfect chakra control which led him to create his own jutsus to compensate what he can't master.
> 
> KakaNaru might appear on next chapter.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. Have a good day! And stay healthy!


	2. Comfort, Affection and Love part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto can't believe their luck. They were always alone and now, they got a family; not just a normal family, a blood-related family! And along with the family, they gained a clan, a shinobi clan. But, even obtaining all of that didn't change nor lessen the village's animosity towards them. They didn't have to worry about all that, though, they got their family, after all, even when Naruto unconsciously hiding something. And Naruto also found out that their parents loved them and wanted the best for them.
> 
> Aka:  
> 1\. Naruto got what he deserves/crave to have  
> 2\. Konoha's civilians and some shinobi still hates Naruto  
> 3\. Naruto surprised the whole Uzumaki clan.  
> 4\. Uzumaki clan proves how protective they can be.  
> 5\. Minato and Kushina left a suprise for Kakashi and their child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OC introduction from previous chapter:
> 
> Name: Uzumaki Kanami  
> Origin: Uzu no Kuni  
> Clan: Uzumaki  
> Age: 34 years old (physically looks early twenties)  
> Height: 180cm/5.9ft  
> Weight: 65kg  
> Position: Head of Uzushiogakure/Uzuha Intel Division  
> Siblings: An older brother, a younger brother and a little sister  
> Spouse: Uzumaki Sakuto  
> Children: Yōou, Shōhei, Hikaru, quadruplet sons, and another daughter.  
> Chakra affinity: Wind, Earth and Fire  
> Appearance: Kanami has slightly wavy blood-red hair, albeit a bit darker than her husband's and daughter's, sky blue eyes and lean posture. Like many members of Uzumaki clan's main family, she looks younger than her actual age.  
> Personality: Kanami is cheerful and upbeat person. She is very affectionate with her children, nephews, nieces even with her younger cousins. But make one wrong move against her family, she will turn into a demon that stop at nothing. It is advised to stay clear from her path when she's angry.  
> Ability: Kanami is a seal and barrier master, specifically in time and space seals and barriers. One would never realised they are within her barrier unless she told them so.
> 
> Italics are thoughts  
> "Bold" are sinister voice, serious voice, screams, etc  
> "Don't mess with an Uzumaki" normal talking
> 
>   
> Disclaimer! I do not own Naruto as it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. What I owns are my OCs and plot.
> 
> Enjoy!

Naruto didn't know how to feel about his situation. First, he woke up feeling quite dejected as for these past ten days, his favourite guardian, the one who saved him from the incident on his fourth birthday, who the Hokage called as Hound when he asked the old man, hadn't watched over him while he slept.

Many people hate Naruto, for reasons he didn't even know but Hound is different. Their presence soothes Naruto. He didn't know how he can sense Hound or those who hate him, he just did. Ever since the incident on his fourth birthday, Naruto somehow can sense people's animosity towards him and while he didn't know what exactly Hound think of him, the child was happy that his silent guardian did not have that feeling of hatred towards him.

Naruto spends his morning in the attic and only given bread and a glass of milk as breakfast. The orphanage's caretakers never let him out, especially if there are families visiting to look for a foster child. They also forbid others from socialising with Naruto.

Naruto knows they hate him, so why did he felt one of them nearby?

"Please, there are other children you can choose from. It doesn't have to be it."

Naruto knows not to eavesdrop on conversation but he can't help it. His senses become weird since his birthday.

"Ah, please forgive me. The...child...is here."

Is it just him or did Naruto hear the caretaker sounds as if he's terrified? Naruto didn't have any time to think about it when he heard the door unlocked and opened. Naruto watches as two people; one man and one woman, staring at him from the doorway. In the dark of Naruto's room, he can see their hair are both red and while the man has the red eyes, the woman has blue eyes. Two pairs of eyes look at him with kindness and something that no one ever directed at him before.

"We can bring him outside, yes? Children, especially one as young as he is, shouldn't be kept alone in this damp and gloomy room." Naruto saw the man speaks to the caretaker who can only nod, fearful of the man but when the red-headed man turned around, the caretaker glare at Naruto with hatred and Naruto flinched.

The woman walked into the room, sat on her knees in front of Naruto and opened her arms in a warm invitation. "Naruto, come here, child. There are some people outside who would love to meet you." She smiled at him, her smile looks so kind and warm. Naruto watches the woman for a few moments and hesitated when she didn't even let her smile slip. He watched her for another moment before he lunged and hugged the woman.

Naruto felt the woman hugged him back before she stood, effortlessly lifted him into her hold and nuzzling Naruto's hair. "Good boy, now, shall we go meet them?" The woman turns around and the red-headed man nodded at her before leaving the room first, the woman follows after the man with Naruto still in her arms.

Naruto, despite his hesitancy before, buried his face into the woman's neck, revelling in the warm feeling that spread into his whole being. The warmth the woman exudes was nothing Naruto ever felt before. It made him wonder that maybe, this is what a family feels like?

* * *

Kanami wasn't pleased, at all, when she can't find her nephew-soon-to-be-son the moment she and her family arrived at the orphanage. Her daughter had told her that the first time they saw Naruto, he was in the front yard, underneath a tree but there's no sight of him.

One of the orphanage's caretakers, a civilian man brought her and Sakuto to where the other children are playing inside a playroom in the orphanage and she fights off the urge to growl in displeasure. _Naruto is not in this room, too_ , she thought. _Where is he?_

Her husband demanded that they came for Naruto, not other children. The caretaker who escorted them, however, denied, saying that there was no child with such name.

 _He should be grateful that my children are outside_ , Kanami thought as she focuses on the chakra signatures inside the building. She tried to find similar chakra to her husband's and oldest daughter so it was easy for her to pinpoint where Naruto is. Leaving her husband to deal with the young man, Kanami makes her way to the attic. _Strange, his chakra patterns are steadily coursing through his body as if he's using a jutsu_ , she mused as she begins to walk up the stairs.

Her husband soon joined her along with an irate caretaker who tried his best to stop the two but failed. As they walked up to the attic, her husband angrily asked the caretaker of why Naruto is at the attic.

"Any reason why the child is in the attic?"

"Sir, that thing is dangerous. Surely you want someone who is better than it is?"

 _Wrong choice of words_ , Kanami seethes as she keeps her fists closed. All this time, she has been imagining wringing the neck of the caretaker until it cracked with her hands as well as chopping him up into tiny pieces before feeding his remains to a murder of crows.

"No. No one can be better than he is." Her husband harshly replied, even without looking at him, she knows her husband well. The family is protective of each other and any slight directed toward an innocent child, who is one of them will not be tolerated. _But we can't even show them how protective we are because our political power in Konoha is not as strong as it's power in Uzushio or Uzuha. Here in Konoha, we are nothing but old allies,_ Kanami absentmindedly thought as her focus is completely on Naruto's chakra until the caretaker opens his mouth.

"Please, there are other children you can choose from. It doesn't have to be it."

_THAT'S.IT!_

Before Kanami can even unleash her killing intent, her husband unleashed it first. His killing intent, directed at the orphanage's caretaker, was too much for the younger man to endure and he squeals in fear and is that the smell of urine coming from the younger man?

"I will not tolerate you anymore if you dare to suggest another child. We are here for Naruto, for one Uzumaki Naruto and you will not stop us from seeing the child and bond with him. Do you want the Hokage to know that not only you place the child in the attic, you also deprived him of human contact; do you want him to know that? Because we are here with Hokage's permission and we can easily told him of the child's situation. Also, if you call the child by 'it' once again in front of me, I will make you unable to utter any words. **Do you understand?** "

Kanami saw the caretaker shook his head from the edge of her peripheral vision. Shaking her head at her husband's 'soft' threats, she stops before the attic door. Closing her eyes, she can smell the child's scent amongst the dampness and dust of the room. _The child's reek of loneliness_ , Kanami's heart aches for Kushina's son. If only they were present here in the first place...

"Ah, please forgive me. The...child...is here."

Ignoring the trembling man, the Uzumaki pair wait on the side of the door. Kanami heard her husband growled at the sight of the keys and the man hurriedly unlocked the door yet he remains standing in front of the door. Impatience filled Kanami's being, something she rarely felt as she grabbed the orphanage caretaker's shoulder, "Please move, before I shove you off and broke your bones in the process. You wouldn't want that to happen, now, would you?"

The young man, whose shoulder is within her grip, startled as he turns his head upward to stare at Kanami's cold sky blue eyes and gulped at the promised pain shone in her eyes. Now that she has his shoulder on her hand, Kanami can't help but tighten up her grip. Her grip was so tight that a bruise must have bloomed on his shoulder which the young man respond with a whimper. Satisfied that her threat is well received, she released him and opened the door, Sakuto already beside her.

The room was cramped and bare with necessities hardly appropriate for a child. A bed that looks old with a thin-looking blanket, a drawer that looks like about to give in and a towel rack that barely had any decent towels. Kanami and Sakuto saw the child they have been looking for, sitting down on the cold floor, his back to the wall and watching them.

The child's scent, now that the door is opened, hit Kanami's nose hard; her nose wasn't as sensitive as her daughter's and husband's but she had experienced loneliness, sadness and hopelessness that it once clings to her before, but all that happened to her when she was already a war-hardened shinobi. Naruto, on the other hand, is just a four years old child and his scent not only reek of loneliness; all three emotions; loneliness, sadness and hopelessness clings to Naruto's being as if it was his true scent. And she refused to believe it. 

Kanami wanted to cry, she wants to eliminate all those who deliberately hurt the child, but, what she wanted the most is to gather the child into her arms and showers him with love. She wants to fill the child with so much love that none of his current scents will cling to him anymore. And it won't be just her; their family, their whole clan would love Naruto.

"We can bring him outside, yes? Children, especially one as young as he is, shouldn't be kept alone in this damp and gloomy room." Kanami can hear Sakuto's growling at the caretaker whose expression is unimportant to her at the moment as all she can focus on is Naruto; poor, slightly malnourished and little Naruto.

Taking a few steps into the room, Kanami sat on her knees, smiles warmly at the child who stares at her and opened her arms, "Naruto, come here, child. There are some people outside who would love to meet you."

The child watches Kanami for several moments and she can see him hesitating as her smile still in place and her arms are still open. It took Naruto another moment before he lunged at Kanami and hugged her; his small arms around her neck.

Kanami hugged the child back, his small frame allows her to fully wrapped her arms around him. Her hands can feel the ribs protruding from the inside of Naruto's chest and she had to control herself from lashing out to the orphanage caretakers.

Never has Kanami felt so hard to ignore something; she just can't push the thought of how light Naruto is as she stood up with said child within her embrace and nuzzles Naruto's hair, "Good boy," cooing at Naruto, Kanami turns around toward her husband who watches her with questioning glint to his eyes. "Now, shall we go meet them?"

Kanami holds a staring contest with Sakuto for a minute before he nodded and left the room first with Kanami and Naruto in tow. The pale caretaker dare not to stare or look at the pair who passed him without even batting an eye at him. Kanami, however, doesn't care whether the young man looks at them or not because as soon as she passed him, she shot him a look filled with fury at Naruto's suffering because of them. She even allows a little bit of her killing intent to leak out and reached out to the caretaker.

She ignores his gasp and continues her descend while nuzzling Naruto's hair, _The child's golden locks will become a subject of fascination for all of the family_ , she thought. _From today on, this precious child will never spend a day without love and affection_. She's very much certain about that, after all, children, for Uzumaki clan, are irreplaceable treasures.

* * *

"We can bring him outside, yes? Children, especially one as young as he is, shouldn't be kept alone in this damp and gloomy room."

Sakuto barely keeps his fists to himself. He glared at the trembling civilian man who has yet to answer his question. The man had tested his patience for too many times and Sakuto no longer in the mood for soft threats. Growling lowly, the caretaker snapped out of his fear-induced state and nodded.

Satisfied, Sakuto positioned himself so he can watch his beloved wife and nephew as well keep an eye on the caretaker, who seems to be sending a hateful glare at Naruto as soon as he thinks no one is looking at him. Sakuto also catches Naruto's subtle flinched before he glances at the caretaker. _Hoo, so that's how you want it to be? Very well, I'll play along with you._ Sakuto thought as he keeps his attention fully on Kanami and Naruto.

Sakuto keeps watching in silence as Naruto lunged at his wife and hugged her. He saw the child's expression turned into one of a surprise when Kanami hugged him back. Sakuto almost make a move when Naruto's lips wobbled and his eyes shone with tears, but he stopped when Kanami stood and turn around, locking her sky blue eyes to his blood-red eyes.

Sakuto and Kanami stare at each other for a full minute before he nodded and left the room first, his wife and nephew following him not long after. Even with his back turned, he can still feel Kanami's killing intent leaked, _Probably scaring the hell out of their 'guide'_ , Sakuto thought as he leads the way to outside, where his triplets await them.

As soon as they stepped into the front yard, Sakuto saw his triplets immediately stand up from their place underneath a tree. Their eyes are focused on Naruto who is still on the arms of their mother. His wife just chuckled at how their children wanted to hug Naruto; if their twitching fingers are any indications. Sakuto knows if it was him who has Naruto in his arms, his oldest daughter would feel no remorse and would open her arms so Sakuto can give Naruto to her.

 _Why do I have such a difficult daughter?_ Sakuto lamented as he had a hunch that his daughter is entering a rebellious phase. _She was so cute when she was merely a child._ He lamented as he and Kanami settled on leaning on the facility's wall after she put down Naruto and let the triplets play with the child.

Watching his oldest set of triplets play with a younger child always reminds Sakuto about the actual age of his children. When his triplets had their first kill at the age of four, he knew he had to train them to become a ninja; not as a father, but as the head of the clan and head of the village.

In the past seven years, Sakuto had to refer himself as his children's superior rather than their father; not because he wanted to, in fact, he hated it. He hated seeing his own children calls him with an honorific but it was part of the deal he had to made with the outer council to even let his children become a shinobi during the Third Shinobi World War. He had to treat them like any other of his shinobi force; strict, just and impartial.

The result of his sudden change of behaviour towards his triplets made his daughter change as well. From a daughter who clings to him into a girl whose goal seems to be avoiding her own father unless it's absolutely necessary for her to be where he is.

 _Oh, well, what is done cannot be undone_ , Sakuto mentally sighs as he watches Naruto plays with the animals his daughter made out of water using chakra manipulation and element transformation for him. He's glad the blonde child seems to be enjoying the affection given by his triplets; most abused children won't be too keen when they received positive gestures, let alone affection.

Sakuto had to suppress the growl that threatens to come out of his lips; without even touching Naruto, he knows that the child is malnourished. It was easy to see that the orphanage's caretakers purposely abuses Naruto; they might not abuse him physically, in fear for the retribution from the Hokage, but that does not stop them from verbally abusing the child as well as denying him the necessities for his growth. _I'll have to talk with Hiruzen-dono about this before I go back to Uzuha_ , he mentally snarled as another orphanage's caretaker approaches him and his wife, this time an older woman who had no reservations of hiding her contempt for Naruto.

"Visiting time is over," the woman told him while still glaring at Naruto.

 _This woman has a death wish_ , Sakuto thought darkly, _Another fool who thought the fox and the child is the same being_.

Sakuto glanced at his wife who stays beside him and currently glaring at the caretaker who didn't notice she has four angry Uzumaki glaring poisonous daggers at her. _Ah, so it's time for me to bond with Naruto_.

Sakuto picked Naruto up while ignoring his growling wife and children. The child looks around and then look at Sakuto with a hint of fear that he, somehow, made them angry. "What are you afraid of, Naruto?"

"Umm, did I do something bad...?"

"Oh, no. You didn't do anything bad. They aren't angry at you, Naruto." Sakuto tried his best to reassure Naruto but he can see the child still doubt what he said.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Naruto. They are angry at someone else. For you."

"Why? No one ever gets angry for me before."

"Do family need reasons to get angry at someone who insults their own?"

Sakuto can feel the child startled at his words and suddenly, all he can see is a pair of sky blue eyes shining with unshed tears. "...Family?"

Sakuto nodded with a smile and he watches as Naruto's lips wobbled and the child buried his face on Sakuto's shoulder. Now that he is holding Naruto in his arms, he can feel how thin his nephew is and that boils his blood. He knows he shouldn't let Naruto witness what his wife going to do so he walk toward the front door of the orphanage to have some conversation with Naruto.

Inside the orphanage, children are watching with curiosity and some even glare at Naruto. Sakuto ignores the children as he talks with the orphanage's caretakers about wanting to talk with them later. As he makes way to the damned attic, _Two more days until the property is livable, two more days until Naruto can get away from this place_ , Sakuto reasoned with himself when a group of five older children, possibly around seven to eight years old, appears in front of him and blocking his way.

"Hey, old man. Why would you even want that brat? No one even likes him." One of them sneered at Sakuto who just raised one of his brows at them. Other children joined the first one.

"He's a freak with those whiskers. No wonder his parents abandoned him."

"Yeah, who would want him?"

 _Hmph, just some bullies who just want to feel superior_ , Sakuto thought and begin to subtly sign hand seals for shunshin but stopped when one of the children says something worse than others did.

"He's just a monster who didn't even suppose to be alive."

The children start to laugh amongst themselves as if they did something right. The caretakers look proud of them and that's the last straw for Sakuto.

_They want a monster, I'll show them who the real monsters are._

Sakuto crouched in front of the children and smirked at them with a hint of cruelty to it. "Let me ask you, children. What is a monster?"

The children look around, confused by Sakuto's unexpected behaviour but still feel proud of themselves that one of them, the one who calls Naruto 'a monster' raised his hand and answers Sakuto's question. 

"A monster is someone or something who done really bad things to other people."

"A good answer, now, have Naruto ever done something bad to any of you that you labelled him as a monster?"

Sakuto saw how the children stiffened and look back at the caretakers as if asking for guidance and that's when Sakuto confirmed his suspicions about the children. "It seems to me that Naruto didn't do anything to you yet you still call him a monster. Doesn't that made you the monster instead?"

Ignoring the children's horrified gasps, Sakuto made his way to the attic and when he got there, he closes the door and creates a sound barrier before putting Naruto down on the creaky old bed. "How long have they been calling you that, Naruto?"

"...They've always called me that."

"...I see," Sakuto knew Naruto has questions so he sits down on the floor, not caring about how dusty the floor is and look straight at Naruto. "You have questions, right, Naruto?"

The child nodded at him and Sakuto took a deep breath. He knows he can't answer everything Naruto asks him. But, it's better to let the child know why they can't answer it rather than not telling him at all. "You can ask them, and I will answer them the best I can."

"...You said family...do you plan on adopting me?"

"...How can a blood family adopt one of them, anyway? I'm taking you in, Naruto."

 _There, one of the foxes is out of the bag_ , Sakuto thought as Naruto gaped at him before glaring to the side. "Why now? Do you...do you even know I exist?"

 _This is going to be hard_ , Sakuto wearily sighs, "No, I don't even know you exist. You see, I'm not even from Konoha. I came from another hidden village in this country and only know of your existence due to the Hokage finding out something that once belongs to your mother and contacted me. As for 'why now?', well, better late than never."

"...You know my mother? Did my parents..."

Sakuto didn't waste a second from pulling Naruto to his embrace, letting the child feel his warmth before answering, "Your mother was my youngest sister and she died protecting you and the village the day you were born. The same goes for your father. I didn't know of their demise until the Third Hokage contacted me a week after your fourth birthday. And don't ever think your parents didn't love you and don't listen to those bullies who say they abandoned you. They love you so much that they sacrifice their lives so you can live. You might be lonely before but from now on, the family and clan will be with you, Naruto. You won't be lonely anymore."

During the revelation of why he is an orphan, Naruto starts heaving and by the time Sakuto reveals that his parents loved him, Naruto cried his heart out. Sakuto was glad for making sure his sound barrier is in perfect condition because if he did a sloppy job on the barrier, the attic door would be kicked down by his triplets.

After a few moments of crying and Sakuto's gentle hand patting Naruto's back, the child finally calms down and start to ask questions again. Some are easy to answer but when Naruto starts to ask what is the name of his parents, Sakuto shook his head, "I'm sorry Naruto. I can't tell you. The Hokage prohibited me from telling you, at least not until you are old enough to know their names." _And strong enough to defend yourself_ , Sakuto mentally added.

"...But I will know them, later?"

"Yes, you will know them. If needed, I will speak with Hokage-sama about letting you know earlier than he planned. Until, then, will you be patient?"

"...I don't have any other options, do I? You said something about family and clan. I belong to a clan?"

The grin Sakuto gave Naruto is full of pride, "Yes, you belong to a clan, Naruto. You are a member of the Uzumaki clan's main family. And we will never leave you alone again."

The bright grin Naruto give Sakuto made him ruffles Naruto's hair with fondness. After several more questions, Sakuto decided to stop the Q&A sessions which earn him a whine from his nephew. He reassures Naruto that he will be able to live everyone else soon but for now, Naruto had to be patient. Sakuto also promised his nephew that he will come again tomorrow. And with that, he knows that Naruto is satisfied, for now. After a hug and giving Naruto some snacks to eat, Sakuto makes his way to where he smelled the caretakers are.

_Time to make them know not to mess with an Uzumaki._

* * *

The caretakers are talking to each other while they wait for the pair of redheads. The man with blood-red eyes told them they want to talk with them about something. They all know it must be because of the fox brat.

"Did you see how that man defend that monster? Didn't he know what that thing has done?!" One of them angrily exclaimed. The others agree with him but the youngest man in the room didn't dare to utter a word.

He still remembers how scary the red-headed woman was; everything about her screamed *danger*. And his shoulder still hurts from when she grabbed him.

"And he had the gall to call the other children monster! He even implied that we are the monster here!"

"They must be a monster, too. Otherwise, they will not side with the fox brat." The oldest woman amongst them grumbled, she had glared at the brat when she came to tell them that the time is up. It was until the brat was inside the faculty did she realised the other four are glaring at her and they even growling!

"If we are monsters, then, what are you?"

The orphanage's caretakers jumped. They turn around to see the two redheads entered the room, the red-headed woman is glaring at them. They didn't see how the youngest of them flinched and moved to the corner of the room as if creating more distance will save him from the woman's wrath.

"My husband asked you a question and because I'm also intrigued by your answer, I will repeat his question. If we are monsters, then, what are you?"

The caretakers look angry at what the red-headed woman is implying. The oldest woman decided to answer for them all. "Are you saying that we are the monsters?! That brat shouldn't even be alive! He should be killed all those years ago! And the only reason why he's still alive is because of the Hokage. And I do not intend for him to live any longer."

As soon as she said that, the room is filled with killing intent from the two redheads. It was so thick that some of them crumpled on the floor and struggle to breathe.

"I have enough of you people think that the child and the fox are the same beings. Naruto is not the fox. They are two separate beings. He was the sacrifice to contain the fox so Konoha would be saved from destruction."

"Lies! The monster has whiskers on its cheeks, it definitely the fox in human clothing!" The oldest woman snarled but stopped when the red-headed woman exploded.

" **SILENCE**! You shall never ever call my nephew by 'it'! And you will not lock him inside that damned attic when we visit tomorrow! If you still locked him and called him by 'it', then I will torture you in this very room. I will place a space-time kekkai and tie all of you onto the chairs. I will pick one person at random, torture you all by making the rest watch me torture my victim; breaking each of their finger bones as well as their kneecaps before I tore their limbs off one by one, after that, I will slice open their stomach, pull out the internal organs one by one and force all of you to eat them all. And I won't even let any of my victim dead before I'm done with all of you."

By now, the caretakers are all pale hearing the details of what the red-headed woman will do to them. One of them, despite trembling and holding a hand to his mouth, glared at said redhead. "Y-you can't do that! The Hokage won't allow that!"

"Kanami, I'll take it from here."

Everyone else turns their heads to look at the red-headed man who has been leaning on the wall and watching them squirm with an evil smirk. _This man just stood there, unaffected by the woman's, who he called as Kanami, killing intent, what exactly is he?_ They thought as they warily stare at him.

"You didn't believe my wife when she said Naruto and the fox are two separate beings, did you? Now, what if Naruto wasn't there as the sacrifice? What if one of you were chosen? What if your relatives were chosen? How do you feel if it was you or your relatives in Naruto's position? Would you treat them just like you treat Naruto? Would you call them a monster despite knowing they are only a human being that becomes a sacrifice to contain a tailed beast? Would you actively wish them to die or disappear? Answer me!"

Some already sobbing by the time the man finished his rhetorical questions, some can't even look at him but the oldest woman scoffed at him, "Say whatever you want. That doesn't change the brat is the fox."

She tried to bait him to do something physical but what she got is a laugh, an evil laugh. "W-what are you laughing about?!"

"I knew you would say that. How about...a little insight for all of you."

The man snapped his fingers and the caretakers shut their eyes in fear, however, when nothing happened, they all laughed and sneer at the man who just smiled at them. The two redheads soon excused themselves and left the faculty. It wasn't until they are asleep that they know what the man did to them...

Later that night, each of the caretakers is having the same nightmares where they or their beloved relatives become the host to the tailed beast and become an outcast, just like Naruto did. They woke up from it when they were about to be killed by the angry villagers. For them, the nightmares felt so real that they didn't even dare to look at Naruto. They can only hope the nightmare won't appear again.

* * *

Naruto realised something was wrong with the orphanage's caretakers on the day when his family had promised him that he will leave the orphanage for good. He was still sceptical about the whole family and clan but he can't help but notice that all those who claim to be his family has the same red swirl crest on their clothing as Naruto does. He had asked the Hokage before about the red swirl that always on his clothing and the old man told him that it's a crest that belongs to him. It helped to accept the fact that he is not alone in the world by seeing many people wearing the same crest as he did. The return of Hound's presence also helped Naruto's inner struggle to believe what happened to him in these three days.

Over the course of two days, Naruto's uncle, who introduced himself as Sakuto and his wife, Aunt Kanami, always visits with a different set of people. After the triplets on the first day, they came with two women whom his uncle identified as his cousins. One woman has a wavy crimson-red hair with a pair of emerald-green eyes and another has silvery-white long hair and icy blue eyes. The striking contrast between the redheads and the only silvery-white haired woman made Naruto stare at them.

The silvery-white haired woman noticed Naruto's stare directed to her hair and explained to him that the silvery-white hair colour is a trait from his great grandmother. She promised him to explain about it when he lived with them because the caretakers still strict with visiting hours even though they barely look at him now. Before, they would use any opportunities to glare at him but now, it seems they are afraid to make eye contact with him.

They didn't even glance at him when he sat down on the dining table and eat his breakfast in the faculty for the last time. Unlike the caretakers who are avoiding Naruto, the same cannot be said about other children who all glaring at Naruto because they know the whiskered blonde will have a family in several hours.

 _Well, at least the adults are not glaring at me_ , Naruto thought as he waited for the arrival of his family, sitting underneath the tree to avoid any trouble the other children might be planning to stop his family from taking Naruto in. _Not like that'll stop them_.

Naruto didn't have to wait long as he saw the Hokage walking toward the orphanage with his uncle and aunt. _Wait, who is that?_ Naruto wondered as he caught another redhead behind his uncle. He never saw the man before and he looks younger than his uncle.

As the group arrived at the orphanage, they greeted Naruto with a smile and wave their hand towards him before entering the faculty, _No doubt taking care of the complicated things_ , he thought. The man didn't join others and now there's only both of them in the front yard.

Naruto shamelessly stares at the man who also stares at him and after a few moments of staring contest between the two, the man gives Naruto a grin. "You have your father's colouring, Naruto. And I see you have your mother's facial features."

What the man said startled Naruto and before he can stop himself, Naruto asks if the man knows a lot of his parents. "Nice to meet you, Naruto. My name is Misato and I'm your mother's father, which mean I'm your grandfather!"

Naruto can't believe his eyes and ears, furthermore, he can't believe the man before him who claimed he is Naruto's grandfather, and it shows on his face. "No way. If you're my grandfather, you'd be at least look as old as old man Hokage."

Instead of being angry like Naruto had suspected as old people always going on about respect, the man just rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly. "Sakuto never told you? Uzumaki clan has bigger chakra reserves, impressive longevity and vitality. The bigger one's chakra reserves, the younger they look on the outside. On that note, I'm about twenty years older than the Third Hokage. And I look like this for more than fifty years now."

Naruto felt his jaw dropped to the ground. It sounds ridiculous and unrealistic. But...if that's true... "Then, you're really my grandpa?"

"Yes. I am your grandfather."

"And you look younger than uncle Sakuto because you have bigger chakra reserves than his?"

"Well, Sakuto definitely have bigger chakra reserves than mine, but yes, I do look younger than he is, don't I? He frowned too much and that what makes him looks older."

Naruto frowned at his grandfather's words but shrugged as he still has other occasions to ask about it. Right now, he's more interested in asking about other things. "Are you a shinobi, grandpa?"

Misato gives Naruto a toothy grin before the older man shows his left hand's palm to Naruto and a small whirlwind appears on top of the palm. Naruto looks at the whirlwind with awe and he ask if he can touch it.

The older man smiled and nodded, seemingly amused with Naruto's enthusiasm. "Go ahead. Feel the wind, Naruto."

Gingerly, Naruto move his hand to touch the whirlwind as it looks intimidating despite it small size but to his surprise, it feels like breezes! Naruto lift up his head to stare at Misato who chuckled at him. "Surprised?"

"How do you do that?! The winds are swirling like crazy! And yet it feels like a breeze!" Naruto exclaimed, awe filled his voice and his hands made some swirling gestures that made his grandfather chuckles more. Naruto saw the whirlwind disappear to see water dripping from his grandfather's hand and the water shaped into a dog.

"This is a chakra manipulation. I would explain it in detail later, grandson. It's time for you to come home."

Naruto heard the excited yell of his name and then he was scooped out into his aunt's arms; he never thought she can hug so tightly before! "Finally! Finally the wait is done! I'm sure my triplets are dying with the wait they have to suffer these two weeks! Finally, it's time for you to come home!"

Hugging his aunt back seems to be an impossible tasks as she keeps her hold tight on him until his grandfather took pity on him and saved him from the death hug. "Kanami, my dear daughter, he's turning blue."

"Oh! Sorry, Naruto!"

Naruto takes a deep breath as soon as his feet touch the ground. It was a tight hug, but he did not dislike it. _It feels nice_ , he thought as he noticed that the Hokage is still with them. The old man always been busy and can only ask for those masked men to get Naruto to his office rather than come to the orphanage to visit him.

"Naruto, did you know who they are?"

Nodding, Naruto went and hugged the Hokage, giving the old man a toothy grin."Of course! They are my family! Jiji, I have a family, ttebayo!"

It hasn't truly sunk into him until Naruto referred the three redheads as his family out loud. His heart is beating so hard in excitement. I will live with my family from today on!

Gleeful of the thought of finally meeting the rest of his family, he didn't hear what the Hokage told him and only noticed it when said old man ruffled his hair. "Do you even listen to what I said, Naruto?"

A goofy grin in place, Naruto look up at the old man who had cared for him, "Nope," he said as he took a step back. "I'm too excited right now!" Naruto finds himself unable to settle down and rocks himself back and forth, making the adults chuckled at him.

"Understandable. I was just saying that if you want, you still allowed to come to my office without my summon, Naruto."

Staring at the Hokage, Naruto is reminded by something. "Hey, Jiji, now that I have my family, will..."

The blonde child didn't know how to express himself without being a brat, but the others are looking at him with their attention on him, something he never experienced until his family came. Naruto let his eyes roam around until he locked eyes with his aunt who smiled at him, silently encouraging Naruto to finish what he's going to ask.

"Now that I have my family, will Hound no longer watch over me?"

Watching the Hokage caught unguarded would be funny for Naruto if he didn't feel his stomach churn at the thought of no longer sense Hound's presence nearby. _Maybe I was too selfish for wanting Hound nearby?_ Naruto pondered as the Hokage had yet to answer him. He almost took back his question when he heard the Hokage sighs.

Afraid of rejection, Naruto tried to take a step back but a pair of hands gently settles on his shoulders, silently comforting him. Naruto's blue eyes met with his grandfather's violet-blue eyes. "Don't worry, everything will be alright." True to his word, the Hokage nodded at Naruto and told him that he'll think about it.

Satisfied, Naruto let himself be picked up by his aunt as they made their way to what they told Naruto as Uzumaki clan's ground. He can't stop fidgeting as they passed many buildings and stops for a moment in front of Hokage Tower so Naruto can wave goodbye as the Hokage parted ways with the Uzumaki family who bow in respect before they start walking again.

"Are we there, yet?"

"Just a little bit more of walking and then climb a flight of stairs, however, we are shinobi, so we shall do this like a true shinobi! Hold on tight, Naruto~"

It was the only warning his aunt give Naruto when the world suddenly tilted, causing him to shut his eyes tightly and cling to his aunt. It didn't feel like anything changes and when Naruto opens his eyes, he looks around with awe. He can see all Konoha!

It wasn't long until his uncle and grandfather join them. Naruto can't hide his surprised look as the two men suddenly appear beside them. "Where are we?"

"Hokage's Rock. Our clan's grounds are not far from this place. This is quite far from the bustling street and the civilians so it's a perfect place for us. Our clan grounds consists of some lands, a forest as well as two farmlands. We can get some farmers back from Uzuha to work on the farmlands to help this village, though. Have you thought of that, Sakuto?"

"I'm sure both of you can discuss that once we get Naruto to his room in the estate. There is no need to discuss such matters here. Let's go, Naruto."

The sight of two adult men pouting made Naruto giggle and after a few minutes of walking, Naruto saw tall concrete walls and gates bearing the crest of Uzumaki clan and in front the gates, he saw a lot of people waiting for him and there's a banner on the gates that say, "Welcome Home, Naruto!" And it made him cry a bit.

He spent that day getting to know his family and clan. Naruto can't remember when was the last time he felt so spoilt by attention and affection like this. And when he sensed Hound nearby the moment he went to sleep, Naruto is certain that this is what it feels to be content and happy.

After all, how can't he be not content and happy? He got his family, he got his clan and moreover, he still got Hound around.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi is called by many names. Cold-blooded Kakashi is one of them. And despite being tasked by the elders to kill the current jinchūriki should the seal ever lost its function to contain the Bijuu, Kakashi never wanted to kill the child he had been guarding from the shadows for three years. The arrival of Uzumaki clan brings him some reassurance that his sensei's son won't be in danger of losing control, not when Kushina-san's niece, who must have been groomed to be a jinchūriki is now officially a Konoha shinobi.

Kakashi was convinced that he will no longer watch over his sensei's son now that the child has his family with him and he did anticipate the Hokage to dismiss him from that duty he actually enjoyed. What he did not anticipates was sensei's son actually know he's there during the night and still wants him around.

"I beg your pardon? Naruto wants me around at night despite being surrounded by his family?"

"Yes. For some reason, Naruto started to develop some kind of sensor after his fourth birthday. He asked me about who you were after you saved him from the burning shed and Kanami-san, the triplets' mother told me something about Naruto she had noticed on the first day they went to the orphanage. She said that Naruto's chakra patterns are steadily coursing through his body as if he had activated a jutsu."

Inwardly panicking, Kakashi tried to focus on what the Hokage said to him. "I did ask her how can she be so sure about it and then she reveals that her chakra sensor allows her to feel someone's chakra patterns and she mostly uses it to discern which is civilian and which is a shinobi. It never failed her and she keeps on checking Naruto's chakra patterns throughout the day. Nothing changed is what she said to me."

The two men basked in silence, both thinking about the child. Kakashi did not know what the old Hokage is thinking about but he doesn't care at the moment. He's panicking despite not showing anything outside. _That can't be. Sensei's son is just a four years old child and had no knowledge about how to mould his chakra, let alone activating a jutsu!_

Kakashi tried to sound logical. He himself has only able to do that because he entered academy early than most!

In the end, Kakashi agreed to guard over Naruto until he left ANBU. "Normally, I would not let you get close to Naruto now that he has his family, but, as long as Naruto didn't see you, I suppose you can guard over him until you left ANBU. Remember, Kakashi, don't let Naruto sees you." The Hokage reminds him, his eyes conveying a promise that Kakashi will not be nearby Naruto if he disobeys.

Nodding his response, Kakashi disappears from the office after the old Hokage dismissed him. _He didn't have to remind me of his order,_ Kakashi bitterly thought. The child was supposed to be part of his pack yet it was denied of him by the elders and Hokage. It was part of the reason why he keeps on being almost suicidal with his missions; to keep him away from the remainder of his failures. The Hokage had ordered him to never interact with the child, at least until Naruto is a genin when he was promised to be allowed to get close.

It was not a hard decision for him. He enjoyed watching over the child because he can see for himself that Naruto is alive. That there is a possibility of Naruto being part of his pack in near future. Now, he had to think about how to watch over Naruto without being detected by the Uzumaki clan's sensors.

~~~

"I didn't know there's a way to guard someone from such a far distance."

Looking down from his perch on a tree outside Uzumaki clan grounds, Kakashi saw the eldest of the triplets looking at him. She had this unimpressed looks on her.

"You know you can just settle on Naruto's balcony rather than here." Here means a tree amongst many and way beyond the Uzumaki clan's estate; Kakashi don't want to make enemies out of Uzumaki clan, that's why he didn't dare to set a foot inside the property. And it seems the younger kunoichi realised it as she just shook her head at him. "Naruto's room is on the second floor, I'm sure you have memorised his scent by now. If anyone checks on you, just tell them that you are Hound whom Naruto has been waiting for."

"!?"

Before Kakashi can even question her about Naruto waiting for him, the red-headed kunoichi used shunshin and disappear without any telltale smoke. Shrugging to himself, Kakashi made his way to the Uzumaki estate and sniffed the air. It didn't take long of him to find Naruto's scent.

Taking a peek into the room from the balcony doors, Kakashi noted that the room is significantly bigger than that cursed attic room. The pieces of furniture in the room even look new.

Satisfied to see that Uzumaki clan taking care of Naruto so well, Kakashi leans back on the wall and shivers as the cold weather bites him. He had forgotten to bring his ANBU coat and he can't even move to get it. If Naruto was truly a sensor and know his presence, it'll be a bad thing to move now. _Now that I think of it, Yōou wore a heavy cloak. Probably to keep the cold away_ , Kakashi thought as he tried his best to keep warm.

"If you're cold, why don't you come in?"

Startled, Kakashi look around to see Naruto's balcony doors are open, his lone charcoal grey eye fall into a woman with the same shade of red hair as Yōou and has blue eyes. Her eyes are staring at him for a moment before she smiled at him.

"Ah, so you're Hound? Naruto told us that your presence soothes him. Do come in. He would be sad when he knows you froze yourself outside his room."

The woman leaves the doors open and Kakashi saw Naruto slightly shivers from the cold. _This woman is sly_ , he thought as he entered the room and slide the doors shut, effectively banishing the cold away from the room.

Leaning on the wall, he watched the woman fills the closet and drawers with clothes for Naruto and noted that there's a lot of orange coloured clothes. He let his eye roam the room and sure enough, there's a lot of orange colour in the room. The comforter is orange, too–in fact, it looks a shade brighter and Kakashi thought of how can someone likes such bright shade of a colour.

"When we bring Naruto to the clan's seamstresses to get him new clothes, he pointed a lot of orange coloured fabrics. My husband barely managed to stop him from having all of his wardrobes in that colour. Naruto stood his grounds when he chooses his comforter, though."

 _She must have noticed me staring at the monstrosity of a comforter_ , Kakashi mused as the woman finished her task. She had whispered when she talks to him, does that mean Naruto is a light sleeper?

"You are the triplets' mother, yes? Did you mean it when you said Naruto's chakra patterns are active?"

The woman stares again at Kakashi before she motioned him to follow her. Glancing at Naruto and after making sure the balcony doors are locked, Kakashi follows the woman to the hallway.

"Did you hear that from Sandaime-sama?"

"Yes." There is no need for Kakashi to elaborate, the woman understood what he's saying.

"I've told my husband and daughter about it. They would start to study Naruto's seal tomorrow to see whether it was an influence from the Kyuubi or Naruto's own ability. We do have a scroll of information from Mito-sama when she was Kyuubi's jinchūriki. It says that having Kyuubi sealed inside her allows the host to sense negative emotion from people. I have a suspicion that the incident on Naruto's fourth birthday triggered the Kyuubi to protect its host by giving Naruto its sensor abilities."

It's clear to Kakashi that the woman is worried about Naruto. It was bad enough for the child to be Kyuubi's jinchūriki. He didn't want to know what others would do if they know Naruto can use the tailed beast's abilities.

"By the way, you can get whatever you want from the kitchen should you ever get hungry while guarding Naruto. If anyone asked you about it, just tell them that Kanami gives you permission and that you are Hound. Good night."

Kakashi watched the woman walks away but he has this one thing to ask. "Why?"

The woman stopped and hummed, before she turn around to face him. "Why would you even let me get this close to him?" You know who I am, went unsaid but Kakashi is sure the woman knows what he's talking about.

They both stare at each other for a few moments before the blue-eyed woman smirks at him, "Naruto trust you and like I said before, he told us that your presence soothes him. With his current condition and what he had experienced so far, that's saying something. Also, I didn't tell Sandaime-sama of this but Naruto told me that during those days you spend shadowing my triplets' movements, some shinobi were snooping around the orphanage and they kept him awake with their ill intent. They even snuck some makibishi* onto the floor and underneath Naruto's pillow."

Kakashi felt himself stiffen at the new information, his squad never told him anything about such a thing. Whenever he and his squad are in the village, they always watch over Naruto. When he was ordered by the Hokage to shadow the Uzumaki triplets to make sure they won't try to sneak out of their 'babysitters' sights to meet with Naruto during their probation period–he was surprised that none of them tries to do so, considering Kushina had told him stories about her family and their impulsiveness– Kakashi had told his squad to watch over Naruto during the night as well.

There's only one person who can get away from his squad's trained sights. The possibility of that someone tried to harm Naruto for his own gain made Kakashi worry about what will happen if they dare to infiltrate Uzumaki clan grounds. Yōou had shown her dislike of village elders and councils on broad daylight during the time she ranted in front of the memorial stone. 

_This is not good and there's no evidence that it was that man who sends shinobi to spy and try to hurt Naruto._ Torn between wanting to tell the Hokage about this and wanting to spy on the man himself, Kakashi just stood there, contemplating his choice and what will come of it.

"Did my daughter told you about a perfect vessel?"

The sudden change of topic dragged Kakashi out of his reverie and he once again stares at the woman who now looking at a photo frame hanging on the hallway's wall. From where he stands, Kakashi can only make out the triplets and Naruto out of ten people inside the photo.

"You see, the reason why they are called 'perfect vessels' is not only because of their compatibility with Kyuubi's chakra and it's abilities. Our grandfather, the First Uzukage bonded with the Kyuubi long before Mito-sama becomes its jinchūriki. That bond allowed him to speak to Kyuubi and a promise was made by two of them when Mito-sama sealed the Kyuubi inside her. Those who are born of the First Uzukage's blood and flesh will be its perfect vessels. One would be capable of understanding the beast and one would be capable of containing it."

Kakashi listened with attention and as the woman caressed Naruto's figure on the photo, he got the feeling he will hear something unpleasant. "Sakuto and Kushina-chan. The eldest and the youngest. My husband never had the chance to bond with the Kyuubi and I think it angered the Kyuubi when it was sealed inside Kushina-chan. Ever since Uchiha Madara used his sharingan to control the Kyuubi, Kyuubi's hatred toward humans grows bigger and bigger. Kushina didn't even try to understand the Kyuubi and it wasn't even her fault. The Kyuubi didn't know its other vessels survived and the fact it tried to kill Naruto when it's about to be sealed inside the child was a proof that the Kyuubi wanted revenge and deliver disaster to those who destroyed his vessels. It didn't even know Naruto was its perfect vessel. We can only hope Kyuubi won't harm its host; I know my daughter won't let it happen but one cannot be too careful when dealing with a chakra beast whose hatred towards humans exists for thousands of years."

"You're not worried about your daughter?"

The red-headed woman flicks her blue eyes at him and smirks, "Of course, I am and will always worry for my daughter but that girl has been out of the pack since she was eight years old and as stubborn as her father. They don't like people worrying about them, that's why they make sure to become strong. Far stronger than others so they can protect us. Sakuto mellowed when he becomes a father, worrying to death about his children's safety while Ouka...well, she pretends she doesn't know of her family's worry about her lack of self-preservation; her abilities made her reckless and hopefully, her younger siblings won't follow her footsteps."

Is it possible to look resigned and confident at the same time? Because the redhead in front of him looks like that. _Wait a minute, what did she call her own daughter?_

"Why do you call your own daughter, Ouka?"

Blue eyes blinked at him and then sparkled with mischief which reminds him a lot of Kushina. It made him wonder if the woman before him and his sensei's wife has a family relation than related through marriage. "Ouka is my daughter's nickname that is only used by the older generations except for our grandfather who named her. He said that whether she was born as a girl or a boy, he would give her the name, saying that her blood-red hair reminds him of the blood-soaked cherry blossom tree he had seen during his reign. It was a strange thing to name his own great-granddaughter over a blood-soaked flower but due to Sakuto made a promise to him when he was a teenager, I can't even do anything about that since I wasn't even born that time."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, she made it sounds like her husband is way older than she is and the way she calls the First Uzukage as grandfather made him thinks, Does Uzumaki clan also do inbreed?

"What is your true relationship with Naruto? You have this small resemblance with Kushina-san."

The Uzumaki in front of him made a show of mock thinking as if she contemplating whether to tell Kakashi or not. After a minute, she chuckles a bit. "I'm Naruto's first cousin once removed. My father is the younger brother of my uncle/father in law. Cousin marriage is quite common in Uzumaki clan's main family, but only if they truly love each other and want to be together for the rest of their lives. Arranged marriage is mostly for between our clan and another clan. My marriage to Sakuto was an arranged one because we both have the trait from our grandmother but we are happy because we love each other, even with twenty years gap between us. Age gap doesn't really matter to us Uzumaki. Well, it's getting late, and if you didn't notice, there's someone who is facing Naruto's room from outside of the clan's ground."

Startled, Kakashi hastily entered Naruto's room, leaving the woman in the hallway chuckling at him. He was too absorbed learning how Uzumaki clan works that he didn't even notice someone approaching. Granted, he was not a sensor but he was no amateur when it comes to sensing someone's chakra signatures unless they hide it.

Kakashi was thankful that Naruto's bed is in the middle of the room and the moonlight coming from the balcony doors didn't reach his bed which allows him to remain hidden from the eyes of whoever is out there. He can hear subtle movement from the ground floor of the estate, No doubt the residents of the estate noticed the presence as well, he thought as he tried to make out who the hell tried to infiltrate Uzumaki clan grounds.

In the end, Kakashi didn't know who it was. As dawn approach and the estate seems to be waking up, Kakashi left Naruto's room from the balcony and was surprised to see a silvery-white haired teenager, no older than twelve years old, nodded at him from her perch on top of a thick branch on a weeping cherry blossom tree, just a bit sideways from Naruto's balcony. He was also surprised at the number of stationed guards around the clan grounds.

 _Uzumaki clan seems to be the best protection Naruto needed. My presence here should have irritated them but why are they silently greeting me as if it was normal to have an outsider to guard their own?_ Bewildered, Kakashi can only greet them back before going home. There goes one more mystery about the clan on Kakashi's list and it keeps on growing.

* * *

A month later

* * *

Ever since her mother told her about Naruto's chakra patterns, Yōou and her father had to secretly study the containment seal on Naruto's stomach. They found out an anomaly on it. At first, they didn't realise what it was until her grandfather takes a look of it and told them what the seal supposed to be.

"A concealing seal? Why would uncle place a concealing seal on top of the containment seals?" Yōou can't even make heads of it. It doesn't make any sense, the containment seals and the concealing seal are two different seals; it didn't even have the same component and radicals with the containment seals and if it was left alone, it will be bad for Naruto.

They are all inside Naruto's room, examining the sleeping child. It amazes Yōou that her brother can sleep that peacefully with four people watching him. She also noted that after the first night of guarding Naruto in Uzumaki clan's estate, the silver-haired ANBU never leaves Naruto's room until dawn.

"Who knows what Minato was thinking when he seals the Kyuubi inside Naruto. What important right now, is that we have to get rid of the concealing seal. Father, can you remove it?"

Yōou watches her grandfather nodded and hover his hand on top of the seal, not really touching it. They have decided that she was to be the one to touch the seal to let the beast inside know that Yōou, its other vessel is still alive.

She stays where she sat on Naruto's bed, watching as her grandfather's chakra leaked out of his hand in a form of blue tendrils and touching the concealing seal, carefully breaking down the seal. The process took five minutes and Yōou can feel her father and Kakashi are the same as she is; body tense and ready to do damage control if needed.

The moment the seal broke down and vanished, Yōou's nose caught on something different coming from Naruto. It smells familiar to her but she can't remember what it is.

"Well, this is a surprise."

Two pairs of blood-red eyes and one charcoal grey eye watched as Misato leaned back from his hovering over Naruto. Yōou noticed her grandfather has this awkward smile on his face. "Turns out, Kushina didn't have a son, she have a daughter!"

...

**"WHAT?!"**

Unable to contain her shock, Yōou let out a screech and her father slapped her mouth with his hand, effectively shutting her up. She glared at her father but the older man didn't even look at her.

"Father, are you sure? This is not some kind of sick joke or a prank, isn't it?"

"Hey! You know I wouldn't joke about something like this! The only one who will joke about something like this is my younger twin brother's grandson and he's not even here!"

Tired of seeing the two older men arguing about whether it's a prank or not, Yōou zapped them with a small amount of lightning. "Mmph mmph!" It was hard to talk with a hand pressed against her mouth but it works as it dawned on her father that his hand prevents her from saying something.

"Sorry about that, Ouka. Now, you were saying?"

If anything, her glare intensified as she motioned for the sleeping child who looks like , "Both of you are too loud!" She whispered and shooed them out of the bed so she can focus on the containment seal.

Swallowing the nervous lump on her throat, Yōou gingerly place her palm on the seal and let her chakra flow into the seal. The moment her chakra touch the seal, Yōou felt the world tilted. One moment, she was kneeling besides Naruto and on the next moment, she fell into a place that looks like a sewer. 

_Thank god it doesn't smell like one_ , Yōou thought as she stands up while her eyes take in her surroundings. Her ears catch a growl coming from in front of her and that's when she realised where she is. _This is Naruto's subconscious mindscape; this is where Kyuubi is imprisoned._

 **"You've got some guts to come here, girl. State your business with me and my host, before I eat you."** It growls at her and Yōou can see the beast laying on the ground. She also noted that the prison seems smaller than the beast. _That can't be comfortable_.

"My name is Uzumaki Yōou, the great granddaughter of Uzumaki Daiichi. I am here to form a bond with you, just like my great grandfather did long before you are imprisoned by Mito-sama."

Yōou expected the beast to lash out at her but she doesn't expect the water inside the mindscape to dragged her up to where the seal is. **"I need proof, girl. Release me from this prison and I will believe you."**

Yōou's mind went blank for a few moment before her blood boiled with anger at what the beast expected out of her. _It wants me to release it from here?! It wants me to kill Naruto?!_

**"Are you out of your bloody damned mind?! You want me to release you, which would resulted in Naruto's death?! I will never do that, ever! You've got some guts to order me around, you stupid, overgrown fox! Now put me down or I swear I will electrocute you if you dare to suggest such a thing again!"**

Yōou's killing intent filled the mindscape and she watches in satisfaction that the demon fox did not anticipate her strong reaction. The water put her down and she walked passed the bars, furthermore surprising the fox as she leapt onto its snout. "Now, listen here, you! If you think I will let Naruto get hurt anymore than this because of you, then you got one thing coming, Kyuubi! The reason why I am here is because of Naruto, you hear me?! So, don't you dare make any more problem for the child!"

**"...You do realise that the brat is my host, right? I have to protect our lives. She is too young to even take care of herself!"**

"...You know Naruto is a girl." She pointed out, _If the Kyuubi knows, then, Kakashi should have known it as well!_

 **"Of course I know her true gender. When Kushina was carrying her, I was the one who knows her gender first. That concealing seal was placed first before the Fourth seals me inside his own daughter."** It huffed at her and nudge her to get off of its snout. **"I was so angry at the Uchiha for controlling me again but the reason why I tried to kill the brat was because I thought she was not my perfect vessel. I'd rather destroy those who killed the clan whose chosen one understand me than have to be imprisoned inside someone lacking."**

~~~

After talking with the Kyuubi for almost an hour, Yōou managed to convince the tailed beast to form a bond with her. That bond will allow Yōou to access Naruto's subconscious mindscape without touching the seal as well as allowing the Kyuubi to talk to her without it using Naruto's body. Yōou also managed to convince the beast to inform her whenever someone is trying to kill Naruto. "It's better that way," she said to the fuming tailed beast. She can protect her younger sister without letting others know that Kyuubi is actively protecting its host.

Kyuubi also ask of her if she can tell and teach its host about what is inside her earlier, to ensure full partnership; just like how it was when the First Uzukage was its bond partner. "Of course, that's the reason why there are bond partners, yes? To ensure the host and the beast become a dynamic, based on trust and understanding. I'll see you later, Kyuubi-sama."

**"Kurama, my name is Kurama. You are, technically, my host, too. It's only right if you call me by my name, Ouka."**

Yōou's blood-red eyes narrowed at the mention of her second and less known name, "I do not remember introducing myself with that name."

The beast give her a toothy and crooked grin, before pointing his clawed hand at the ceiling of the mindscape. **"Your father and grandfather won't stop calling your name since you came here. Best on your way, pup, I think your father will do something drastic soon."**

"...Fine, I'll see you later, Kurama. And I'm no longer a pup!"

The last thing she heard is the fox's booming laughter before the world tilted again but this time she was prepared and it was a good thing, too. Yōou managed to stopped herself from collapsing on top of Naruto.

"Ouka! Are you okay?!"

Easing herself down next to Naruto, Yōou let out a breathe of relief, the beast had given her a minor case of vertigo. The men inside the room seems to realise her predicament because her father bolted out of the room. Not long after, he returned with two people whom Yōou can only identify as two white blurs before she had to shut her eyes tight. She always hated vertigo, it made her suffer from painful headache.

A cold hand touches her forehead made her tense but when she recognise the scent, her body automatically relaxed. "Hmm, she has a mild case of vertigo and chakra exhaustion. Did it work?"

Yōou heard his father saying something but she can't make out the words as she focused on the cold hand on her forehead. When it retreated, Yōou groans in protest.

"Shh, Shihana is checking whether there is something besides vertigo and chakra exhaustion," her grandfather whispered to her but she doesn't care about the check up. Chakra exhaustion always had nasty effects on her body, she can even feel the fever coming up.

Another cold hand touches her forehead and through her blurry vision, she managed to catch icy blue eyes before it moved to her eyes and covered them. The owner of the hand whispered to her, asking her whether the bonding was a success or not. She confirms that the bonding was a success and the Kyuubi told her that Naruto was indeed born as a girl and the concealing seal was placed because her father didn't want her to be married off to someone he won't approve of. The beast also told her that the seal only affect how people sees Naruto while the person themselves can see their true gender; no sharingan or byakugan can see past the seal. It even managed to fool her sensitive sense of smell.

Despite being drained of chakra, Yōou still can move her limbs and she pointed at where she think the silver-haired ANBU is standing. "My granddaughter, why are you pointing at me?"

_Oops, wrong person._

Speaking made her headache worsening but she had to do this. "Where's Kakashi-san?" As soon as she asked for the ANBU, a hand guides hers so she is pointing at the man on the dark corner of the room.

"You knew aunt Kushina's child was supposed to be a girl yet you didn't say anything!" She exclaimed before softly groaning in pain.

“Honestly, you never learn, do you?” Yōou heard her father muttered under his breath, and from that point on, she tuned out the voices in favour to not move to much. Normally, she wouldn’t even dreamed to dress lightly during winter but she begin to feel feverish and her clothes starts to feel constricting. And the one who has their hand over her eyes realised it.

“Shihana, you are the doctor of the house. What do you say of Yōou’s condition?”

“Her fever will be gone in the morning as long as you keep her as cold as you can. As for her vertigo and chakra exhaustion, she won’t be eating solid food for at most three days and in the end of the week, she’ll be as fit as a normal Uzumaki.”

By now, her consciousness wavered and the last thing she heard is her father’s dry comment that suspiciously sounds like, “Then she will need a full week to completely get back to perfect health since she has the largest chakra reserves even among us vessels.”

~~~

(From now on, Naruto will be referred as a she. Warnings like this will appear when a genderfluid character changes gender)

~~~

Yōou feel like crap.

Shespend four days in bed, throwing up every time she finished eating something. Despite her meals being mostly soups, her stomach cannot take it and thus, she kept a basin by her bedside table. Her vertigo already gone by now but the doctor in the house, her younger cousin, Shihana still forbids her from moving too much. What frustrated her the most is not staying in a warm bed most of the day, it’s the fox inside her head poking around her memories.

 _Keep your damn tails out of my memories, Kurama!_ Yōou hissed to the image of the nine tailed fox lounging leisurely inside her mindscape.

The image snorted at her, and she can feel the demon fox's amusement despite it not sealed inside her. **“Come now, pup, you are my bond vessel now. I'm curious about your life and what should I avoid to prevent myself on your bad side. I have done that before with your great grandfather and I’d rather not experience it again.”**

 _Did he pummel you to the ground? I wish I have seen that. What did you do, anyway? I heard from older generations that great grandfather was hardly get angry; unless you badmouth or threatened his wife, children and clan._ Yōou snickered, imagining the mighty Kyuubi got beaten by her great grandfather whom she have only seen from photographs.

**“Yes, I know that fact, he warned me when we bonded. However, you have to know this, pup. Your great grandmother didn’t even look physically intimidating, with her silver locks, charcoal grey eyes, lithe body and less than impressive chakra reserves when compared with Daiichi.”**

_You know full well that everyone else is less than impressive when they are being compared to the strongest Uzumaki in the history of my clan!_

**“Shush, pup. Your great grandfather himself didn’t look the part, with smiles always present on his face. Overall, him and his wife didn’t look the part as the strongest and deadliest duo the world ever seen since the era of Rikudou Sennin. Not many believed them, especially my siblings and I, so I challenged them.”** The fox informed her as she decided to meet the fox inside her own mindscape where he currently resides.

_And?_

**“He didn’t bite into my bait until I insulted your great grandmother, calling her worthless.”**

_You didn’t._

**“I did.”**

_Where’s your goddamn self-preservation, you giant furball?!_ She shouted at the fox which made him laugh at her.

**“Funny, you says self-preservation when you don’t have any ounce of it inside your bone, pup. I’ve seen the way you fight in your memories. Can’t say I'm not impressed with your unique condition, pup, but maybe a little bit consideration to yourself? I don’t want my bond vessel to die because she doesn’t get the notion of being stabbed is fine as long as she can clear the mission.”**

_I don’t let myself stabbed in every mission I have, old geezer!_

**“Really? Out of ten missions, you didn’t let your enemy stabbed you in one mission. Is that how you'll teach Naruto? Because if it was, then, I will not lend the pup my chakra.”**

_Why do you brought Naruto into this?! No, I didn’t plan on teaching Naruto my suicidal ways, in fact, I won’t be the only one to teach her! Now, if you'd excuse me, I have little sisters to entertain!_

The last thing Yōou heard from the overgrown fox is a full blown laughter as she opens her eyes in the real world. She was desperate to leave the mindscape, yes, but it wasn’t a lie that she has sisters to entertain.

Ever since she is stuck in bed until her younger cousin confirmed she is healthy enough to be active, her younger siblings have been lounging at her room. Mostly, her two little sisters, Naruto and Yuki.

Yuki is only several months younger than Naruto and from what Yōou heard and seen, the youngest of them absolutely love the idea of having a sister so close in age. Right now, the two girls are listening to man beside her who tell them a story about a golden fox and a silver wolf.

**“Is he telling the pups a story about Daiichi and his wife?”**

Yōou tried so hard not to startle so her blond younger sister, who sat on her lap, would not be disturbed. _Who knows. Maybe he’s talking about someone else._ Yōou replied, annoyed that the fox won’t leave her alone for five minutes. She had allowed Kurama to use her eyes and ears to listen and see the world earlier, but now she’s beginning to regret that decision.

**“Speaking of pups, when will you tell the pup about me?”**

It was hard to keep her expression as neutral as it can be, but Yōou managed. _Not until she start her ninja training. We all agree that, at least, Naruto will have a happy childhood and that her training will begin half a year before she entered academy._

**“You actually think I would wait that long, Ouka?”**

_...She’s too young._

**“Stop avoiding the question, pup. I gained enough information from your memories. Your first kill was when you are four years old.”**

_And that destroy my childhood. I’m not letting Naruto experience the same horror. I want her to have a happy childhood. There is no need for her to become a ninja as early as I am. And that’s final. I will introduce Naruto to you when she’s six years old and don’t you dare dragged her down to her mindscape._ She hissed at the fox who in turn, growled at her.

**“And how do you expect her to handle my chakra when we meet?”**

_Your old age must have made you senile, Kurama._ Yōou teased the fox as she dive back into her mindscape. _We started chakra control and seal lessons from age four. Before you know it, she will be a great shinobi. Now, please be quiet if you still want to see my memories but make sure not to wonder around inside my mindscape. They won’t like it if you trespass their territory._

The fox snorted at the redhead's indirect concern for his safety. **“Off you go, pup. I'll stay here for awhile.”**

Satisfied, Yōou return to the real world just in time for Naruto and Yuki to look at her and asked her whether or not they can be like their great grandmother. “Of course, both of you are her direct descendants. All of us has the potential to be like her. But remember, the reason why she was so strong is because she had people she loved to protect. If you have someone you want to protect, you can grow stronger and stronger than ever. As long as love and will to protect is inside you, nothing is impossible.”

* * *

Naruto is currently in a mission. She had been looking with curious eyes at her family who move around the estate as if the devil is right behind them. It wasn’t until her older cousin, Shihana, who has white hair tinted with blue, amethyst eyes and always wear a kimono, according to her older brothers, ask her if she had prepared the gifts.

When Naruto ask her back, Shihana revealed that her oldest set of siblings will turn fourteen, tomorrow. And that almost made Naruto panicked. But it seems she’s not the only one. Her quadruplets brothers and little sister had yet to prepare their gifts either.

And here they are, at the market district, hopping from one store to another, getting whatever they thought will be useful for the three jōnin. Naruto was reluctant to get into the market district. She doesn’t want to make trouble for her family but her grandfather have a solution for her. He placed a temporary concealing seal on her.

“Naruto, don’t ever lose contact with me, okay? The seal will last for several hours but to be safe, keep holding my hand.”

They begin their search for gifts two hours before and most of them have gifts ready. Naruto still need to find gift for her oldest sister but she was fascinated with this food in front of her. They were having a break and one of Naruto’s older brother found this amazing food stall and they decided to have a bite.

Naruto knows she have an appetite; they all does but the ramen was so delicious. She can’t help but keep ordering bowls after bowls. Both Yuki and Naruto finished their eleventh bowl and say thanks for the food while their grandfather and brothers are all looking at them with wide eyes.

“That was some appetite! Come again later, girls!” The owner of the food stall calls to them as they excused themselves.

“We will!”

~~~

Naruto got the perfect gift for her oldest sister. She has been seeing her sister silently agonizing over it and finding one was easy after she got what she wanted.

She can’t wait to see her sister’s reaction upon seeing her gift.

~~~

The celebration was quite simple. It was only the clan attending it, there’s a lot of food and the cake was big. Big enough for all of them.

Naruto waited patiently as the birthday triplets went through the gifts and thanking the giver. When Yōou revealed Naruto’s gift, she begin to nervously fidget on her seat and relaxed when she saw her sister likes it.

“You got me a pair of gloves?! How did you know I need a new pair?!”

Happy that her gift is actually something her sister needed, Naruto launch an explanation of how she had seen her sister mumbled about how fingerless gloves are a pain in the winter. She got a tight hug from Yōou and a cuddle for that.

~~~

Naruto was told that Uzumaki clan had a tradition at new year. The clan will have a feast together and then gifts will be exchanged between family members. A tradition where Konoha adopted it and that’s why the Uzumaki siblings are all on the market district once again. They are all looking for presents for their family.

The triplets' made it easier for their younger siblings to choose the gifts. Buying for twenty gifts is tiring.

At new year, Naruto saw several ninja come to the feast, most of them are around her oldest siblings. To her surprise, none of them are glaring at her even though she came near them for the food. In fact, most of them greet her warmly which she greeted them back.

“Naruto,” Yōou called out to her which stopped her from putting the juicy, grilled boar meat into her stuffed mouth. After a moment of chewing and swallowing the meat, Naruto turn to her sister who has this strange smile on her face.

“Yeah? What it is, nee-chan?”

“Can you get that nii-chan over there,” Naruto look at where her sister is pointing and her eyes grow wide at the sight of someone not eating anything despite the abundance of delicious food waiting to be eaten! “to come here and have some food? He just stay there and won’t move toward the buffet.”

Naruto nodded and almost dashed toward the man, who she noted to be quite unusual. As she made her way toward the man, her blue eyes took in his appearance. The man has somewhat wild silver hair, his forehead protector is arranged to cover his left eyes and he appeared to be slouching. And for some reason, Naruto felt like she knew him.

* * *

Kakashi didn’t know how to handle Yōou. Mostly, she wouldn’t even bother someone until they caught her eyes, just like how her aunt used to do but unlike Kushina who will use violence if needed, Yōou just asked him if he’d attend the new year feast at her clan's estate. There were no threat or sweet talking him into joining them.

He came only because it’ll be easy to mingle and watch over Naruto and he wouldn’t need to wait to guard the child if he came early and he can change his gear in the restroom when everyone gone to sleep.

Kakashi definitely did not count on the possibilities of Naruto walking towards him.

A month and a half of living with her family made Naruto look healthier than ever. Kakashi might not been around to specifically care for the blond little girl but he had held her in his arms when the incident happens almost three months ago. He still can feel the bones underneath the skin.

It was only a fleeting moment but it was enough for Kakashi to know that if the Hokage did not ordered him to stay away from Naruto the day after the Kyuubi attack, Kakashi would have taken her under his care without fuss.

His train of thought stopped when he felt a slight tug on his pants. Looking down, Kakashi cursed himself inwardly, he did not mentally prepared to see the child looking up at him with those wide blue eyes.

“Onii-chan. Yō-nee-chan told me to get you to get some food.”

Kakashi glared a bit at Yōou who definitely has a mischievous grin before he look down again at Naruto who keep tugging at his pants. “Maa, I'll get some food later. Why don’t you join the rest of your family?”

“But, onii-chan, she said you haven’t had any food! I can tell you which one is delicious and which one not! Come oooon, let’s go eat together!”

Kakashi felt his resolve weakened but he held steady until Naruto look up with him with a perfectly executed puppy eyes. With a sigh, Kakashi admitted his defeat to himself, not that he'll ever tell anyone. Imagine the reaction of his subordinates and colleagues when they heard of him, an ANBU captain lost to a four years old girl. Yeah, he will keep that as a secret to his grave.

“You’ll tell me which one is delicious?”

Naruto’s eager nods made him sighs again before he followed the girl to the buffet area. Thankfully, his colleagues are already went home by the time he and Naruto approach the tables and the girl did points out what she think is delicious which are mostly meats.

The way she looks at the salads and then stick her tongue out at it made him chuckled a bit. “What about this, Naruto? They look delicious,” He had to stop himself from laughing at the sheer look of horror on the child’s face when he took a serving of salad and put a genjutsu over his face to conceal his face while he eats.

“B-but, that’s...” The child seems unable to shook away her shock as she splutters over the fact he is eating vegetables which he noted to be quite delicious. The Uzumaki clan seems to have unique and exotic taste for food. He rarely have game meat outside missions but there’s a lot of game meat on the menu.

“But that’s rabbit’s food!”

Kakashi felt himself stiffen. _What on earth did they teach this girl?!_ Kakashi turn his head sharply toward Yōou who is the nearest Uzumaki and glares at the younger kunoichi.

“Hey, I didn’t teach her that. And what’s with those eyes?!” The red-headed kunoichi rolled her eyes as Kakashi didn’t stop glaring kunais at her. “I'm pretty sure she’s hanging out too much with our grandfather. He is, after all, notoriously known for his dislike of green food and it’s always a war to stop him from influencing the children.”

Kakashi had to begrudgingly accept the excuse but he’ll have some words with her later. For now, he’ll eat the food.

~~~

It didn’t take long for children to nodded off, Naruto is no different. She leaned on him as she fought sleep but considering it’s nearly midnight–Kakashi is surprised the child can stay awake that long. Naruto always asleep around nine pm– she failed.

“Okay, little sister, time for bed.” A teenager with silvery-white hair colour and icy blue eyes appears and kneeled down in front of Naruto who stubbornly rubbed her eyes and mutters things that sounds like “I’m not sleepy,” which made everyone around chuckles at the adorable display of stubbornness.

“Come now, Naruto, you’ve already won the bet. Your older brothers and little sister are all passed out two hours ago. And didn’t you said you want to see uncle Sakuto and aunt Kanami off tomorrow?”

Kakashi felt Naruto’s little fingers clenched on his pants before letting go and walk toward the teenager who then pulled her into his arms. The silvery-white haired teenager carry the blond child upstairs. Kakashi had seen the teenager before a few times around dawn after he finished guarding Naruto and he also remember said teenager was the one who takes care of Yōou when she was incapacitated.

Placing his plate on the stacks of dirty plates on a tray, Kakashi turn back to ask Yōou where the restroom is, only to find his fellow shinobi still eating. “How many times have you refill that plate of yours?”

“This is my twentieth.”

Urgh, Kakashi can’t even fathom how people can eat that much food but he never knew what it felt like to have enormous amount of chakra reserves like his younger fellow shinobi. “Anyway, where is the restroom, Yōou? I need to guard Naruto.”

“Hmm, wait a minute, will you? I still haven’t given you your present.”

“...You prepared one for me?”

Now, inviting him for her clan's feast for the holiday is one thing, but getting him a present when they aren’t even that close sounds...foreign to Kakashi. But before he can say that he’s fine and have to hurry and change his uniform, the redhead kunoichi grabbed his hand and hold him in place, successfully stopping Kakashi from escaping.

“Relax, my gift won’t take too long and I’m sure you’d find it useful, as a shinobi.”

“Oh? And what is it?” Try as he might to sound uninterested but Yōou made her present sounds very interesting. It’s not uncommon to be given a ninja tools as presents but the thing is, Kakashi can’t see any kind of object that can be described as a present.

“It’s up to you, though, do you want a normal storage seal or a chakra storage seal?”

“I already have those.” He pointed out, before taking one storage scroll he always keep with him and presents it to Yōou who look at him with a blank expression.

“...Even the ones that can be etched into your skin and be mistaken as tattoos, like mine?”

Kakashi’s eye widen when Yōou revealed her forearm which is covered by cherry blossoms and several kind of flowers, connected by vines. “These are my personalised storage seals and chakra storage seals. It’s far more handy than those scrolls.” Yōou explained as she covers her forearm with her sleeves.

“You store away your chakra, too? Despite having almost infinite amount of it?!” It was a ridiculous notion, never once he had ever heard someone like Yōou store away their chakra the way she did.

“Even I have my moments of chakra exhaustion, Hatake! These are for the sake of unexpected factors in a mission. Now, choose! Which one do you want?”

Kakashi took a moment to consider his options, _Normal storage or chakra storage seal? Both have their own uses and it’ll be foolish of me to turn down this offer. This is definitely one of those ‘Share what you want to share’ thing she talked about before. There is no guarantee I'll ever get this opportunity._ He thinks before finally made his decision.

“Can I have both?”

Yōou blinked a few times before she nodded and asked him for his blood because the seal needed it. Kakashi pricked one of his finger with a kunai and let several droplets fall into Yōou’s brush he had failed to notice before.

“What shape do you want for the seal? And where do you want them?”

“...Can’t you just make it something that won’t catch people’s eyes?”

“It had to be something that represents you, Kakashi-san. Don’t make this difficult or you won’t be guarding Naruto tonight.”

 _Well, she got me there._ “Wolves. And please put it on my wrist.”

“Alright, wolves it is.”

Fighting Yōou was full of adrenaline but watching her painting two heads of wolves on his right hand's wrist with such intense concentration is something else. It wasn’t even five minutes since she start painting when he felt a surge of chakra enters his system through his wrist and he watched with fascination as Yōou put away her brush. She looks satisfied with her work on his wrist and Kakashi can’t blame her. The two heads of silver wolves that adorned his right hand's wrist is simply beautiful.

~~~

Kakashi had to made it looks like he wasn’t attending Uzumaki clan's feast when he landed on Naruto’s balcony with a soft thud. He had to shunshin out of the estate after he changes his attire and tested his new storage seal. Yōou had explained to him that all he had to do to activate it is to touch the seal, channel a small amount of chakra into it and willed whatever object he wished to store inside it. It didn’t even need any handseals.

Kakashi was glad he took a small detour to his house because his nose caught on a scent of someone following him towards the Uzumaki clan’s ground. He nodded towards any guards he encountered as he made his way toward the estate. As soon as he landed on his charge’s balcony, his eyes are roaming to see if something actually happens while Yōou gave him his present when something caught his eye.

It looks like a paper bag and the slight scent that clings to it told him that it was Naruto’s but why it’s out on the balcony confused him. He refused to entertain the thought that Naruto get him something for the holiday. For one instance, Naruto wasn’t supposed to know his existence and he wasn’t allowed to be nearby the child. He wasn’t even planning to be seen by Naruto at the feast and he would have succeeded if not for Yōou's meddling.

Picking up the paper bag, Kakashi’s eyes widen when his ANBU code name is written on a card with sloppy writings belonging to a child along with some drawings that strangely looks similar to one of his ninken. The card says, “Thank you for being there for me all these years! I hope this will keep you warm during cold days!”.

Kakashi felt something inside him tightens. This precious child who only recently abused by the village still have within her heart to give him something despite the fact that he never interact with her. He never really think about the child liking his presence and wanted him near. That’s a dangerous thought for him to have and yet, as he pulled out his gift, he can’t stop himself from wondering what will happen if he fight harder for his right to be with Naruto.

That night, Kakashi made himself home on the corner of Naruto’s room and fiddles with his brand new scarf. As the dawn approach, Kakashi whispered a thank you to Naruto’s sleeping form and patted her on the head before leaving, unaware of a small smile blooming on the child’s face.

* * *

Naruto, five years nine months old

* * *

“You want my permission to bring Naruto to Uzuha Village?” The Third Hokage look at one of his finest shinobi in front of him with incredulous look. Surely his ears deceived him due to his old age, because he hears Yōou asking him to permit Naruto to travel to her clan’s village. He still unable to believe that the child his successor left him is actually a girl. When Yōou reported about the true gender of her little sister to him a year ago, he almost have a heart attack.

“Yes.”

He watched the redhead for a moment before he opens the scroll she gave him and reads it. “It says here that the clan back at Uzuha wanted to meet Naruto. Is this the real reason?”

“Officially, yes. But the real reason is because our grandmother want to celebrate her birthday in Uzuha with Naruto before she move to Konoha. She finally retired from her position in the military.”

“You mean, Misato-dono's wife? The Uzumaki Harumi? She’s still alive?” He remembered seeing them both together before. The Second Uzukage and the Head of Uzushio’s Torture Division. The woman didn’t look her part but it is widely known that she is feared even amongst her clansmen.

“Yes, grandmother is still alive and kicking. And she wanted Naruto to see the whole clan before she enters the academy.” Yōou huffed, the fifteen years old jōnin looks irritated for some reasons he didn’t know of.

He can understand the reason, though. Once Naruto enters the Ninja Academy she won’t have time to travel to Uzuha and now is a good time for her to do so. “Very well, I shall permit it. Who will be coming along to Uzuha Village from Uzumaki clan, Yōou? And how long will this visit last?”

Her irritated looks did not decreased, in fact, it increased but then, she sighs and the look turned to indifference. “It’ll only be Naruto, Ranmaru and I. The others will not be coming because grandmother did not want them to travel there and neglect their duties here. She insisted both Ranmaru and I to come, though.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Who knows?” The teenager shrugged, seemingly clueless but the Hokage knows it’s not the case. Yōou, despite her ire and indifference, has this worrying vibe. Intending to know what made the usually composed Uzumaki like that, the Third Hokage dismissed his ANBU guards and put on privacy jutsu. “Now, what made you worry about Naruto traveling to Uzuha?”

Hiruzen watches Yōou tensed a bit until she sighs and opens her mouth, “There has been a rising political scuffle within the councils. The outer council indirectly told us that they want to take a hold of a main family member to gain power over the inner council who are the elders of Uzumaki clan. I don’t want to drag Naruto into this scuffle as it would make Kurama itchy to get some action.”

At the mention of an unknown name–Hiruzen had a list of Uzumaki clan members who lived in Konoha–the Third Hokage raised his eyebrows, and parroted back the name. His brows went higher when Yōou slapped her mouth, as if realising her mistake.

“Who is Kurama, Yōou?”

“...Kurama...is the name of Kyuubi. He told me his name when I bonded with him. And he also says that he won’t tolerate anyone who tried to make his vessel as a weapon like what other villages did to his siblings.”

“It talked to you, right now?”

“Yes. I have given him permission to use my senses, within reason.”

“...” Hiruzen still believe his ears are deceiving him. He knows that Yōou become something akin to a vessel to the Kyuubi, in hope to help control it for Naruto but he also didn’t know that she is allowing the beast to use her senses. “Does it able to control your body?”

**It?! I might be a beast but you clearly refer to me as a he and he ignored it! When I got my hands on him...**

_You will do no such thing. I’ve said it more than once; don’t do anything. I’ll take care of it._

**He’s your leader, Yōou. Isn’t it a treason to attack your Kage? Not that I against it.**

_...You know I have disregard some of his orders, most of them are related to Naruto, though. As long as it for the sake of Naruto, I will tolerate it._

Unaware of the discussion happening inside Yōou’s mindscape, Hiruzen waited for an answer. In his eyes, the red-headed kunoichi looks like she is contemplating her answer. “No, he wouldn’t be able to take control of my body. Even if he can, I don’t think it’s a risk he wanted to take.”

**Damn right I won’t. I value my life. The one sleeping inside you is capable of truly destroy me.**

“Very well, I shall take your words for it. Also, for Naruto’s sake, I will sent four ANBU to accompany the three of you to Uzuha Village. When will you depart and for how long?”

“I’d like to depart as soon as we are able to but Naruto wanted to spend some time with her older siblings who will not be coming with us. We will depart tomorrow morning, hopefully, at nine o'clock and it will not take more than two weeks. We will use a concealing seal on Naruto to not let the village know she is away for some time. I don’t want them rejoicing about it.”

 _Ah, she still have grudge over the villagers_ , Hiruzen mentally note to himself. Naruto rarely given the concealing seal whenever she is playing at the forest or training grounds but the seal always present whenever Naruto went into the village. The reason Uzumaki clan gave him was that they did not want Naruto’s generation to be as narrow sighted as the adults and they do not want to cause another trouble for the civilians even if they deserve it. Hence why Naruto had to use the concealing seal until she’s a little bit older. At least until she enters academy.

It wasn’t ideal but it’s indeed a win-win situation for both parties. If the civilians can keep their mouth shut when Naruto is using the seal, there will be no severe revenge coming from the Uzumaki clan which will lead to a peaceful days for him to be rid of more paperwork.

With that in mind, Hiruzen quickly write down Naruto’s permit to travel and hand it over to Yōou who accept it and leave after he said he will choose who comes with them. After making sure the Uzumaki no longer near the vicinity of the office, Hiruzen called the best four ANBU in his mind for the mission.

~~~

Hikaru knows something is wrong when Naruto asked for a sleep together with her siblings with some exceptions in her room. Naruto had specifically told them that their older sister, Yōou and older cousin, Ranmaru won’t be joining them in the sleep together. His younger siblings cheered on the prospect of sleeping together in one room while he and Shōhei shared a look with each other. Naruto would never exclude their twin sister and Ranmaru from any kind of platonic bonding.

 _Yup, something is wrong and hopefully I'll be able to get it out of Naruto before tomorrow comes_. Hikaru thought as he carries spare futons into Naruto’s room. It’s was decided that Yuki will sleep on the same bed as Naruto while the boys will sleep in futons.

Hikaru watched Naruto fluffed her pillows on the bed. _Now seems a good time_ , he thought as he put the futons on the corner of the room. “Naruto, everything seems ready for tonight.”

His younger sister stopped what she’s doing and smiled brightly at him, “Thanks for helping, Hika-nii!”

“No problem, Naruto. Say...why do you exclude Yō-nee and Ranmaru? This can't be because of your travel tomorrow, right?”

Naruto’s pout told him he was right, “It’s not like I won’t like traveling with them...I just want all of us to travel together.”

 _Aaah, so that’s why. What a cute little sister we have._ “Naruto, both Shōhei and I can’t come with you even if we want to. We have our duties as a Konoha shinobi and it’s not our off time. As for the others, it’ll be safer for them to be in Konoha right now. The reason why you are going is because grandmother want you to come see the village before you enter academy. Yō-nee and Ranmaru has something to take care of there so they are coming as well. Don't be angry with them, okay?”

His blonde younger sister nodded after he explained why he and the rest of their siblings can't come with them. “Alright, want to help me getting pillows enough for a pillow war? We can pick the best pillows to win it.”

“Yeah! Pillow war!” Naruto exclaimed and run out of the room, hollering “Hurry up, Hika-nii!” at him from the hallway. Hikaru chuckled at Naruto’s excitement for their sleep together and follows his sister in a more relaxed pace.

 _If not for grandmother’s request, there is no way Yō-nee will allow you to enter Uzuha at the way it is, Naruto. It’s a pity I can’t get to witness what kind of hell she will raise when the outer councils angers her,_ Hikaru thought as he and Naruto went to retrieve the pillows from the closet.

That night, Hikaru saw his twin sister and Ranmaru take a peek inside their blond little sister’s room as they have fun with the pillow war. _Worrywart, the lot of them_ , he snorted softly as he falls asleep.

~~~

Never has Ranmaru seen Yōou’s siblings have a teary goodbye when one of them is going to somewhere else. They didn’t even react this way when the triplets went to Konoha! The silvery-white haired sixteen years old shook his head at the sight of a group hug that last for almost ten minutes now. The adults, who were sniffing at the heartfelt sight, now had to held back their chuckles as time goes by.

Notto mention, Yōou, who stands beside him has been looking at her pocket watch for many times as she keep on checking the time. Moreover, she’s seconds away from panicking.

 _Not that I blame he_ r, Ranmaru thought. _The Hokage didn’t told her who their companions will be._

Thankfully, Shōhei –bless him–noticed Yōou’s near loss of composure and dismissed the hug as he reminded them that Naruto have to go now. And also remind them of the possibility that their grandmother will learn of this and decided to punish them all for being lazy and wasting time.

 _That did the trick_ , Ranmaru thought. And at the right time, too, because Yōou immediately pulled out a bracelet made of her hair as strings and some chakra crystals for the holder of the concealing seal and wrapped it around Naruto’s right hand's wrist and the seal immediately changed the blonde girl's appearance. Gone the blonde hair and the blue eyes, replaced by silvery-white hair like his own hair with amethyst eyes as Yōou will be waiting for them at the gate because Naruto wanted to get some ramen before they depart. She was afraid she won't be eating any ramen the way she likes it after hearing about their grandmother who insist that vegetables are daily necessities and every food must include the greens.

Ranmaru watches Naruto inhale ramen as if it was her last lifeline to the world. And it might as well be true. He knows thinking about their grandmother and vegetables made the blond girl want to cling to her grandfather, the best person in her eyes as he allows her to eat as many ramen bowls as she wants to and doesn’t mind it if she doesn’t eat her greens. _If she want to be a shinobi, I don’t think grandfather will allow her to as many ramen bowls,_ he thought, amused with Naruto’s pout as he stops her from ordering more than three bowls.

“Come on, little sister. We still have a lot of ground to cover. I doubt you will be able to keep your meal inside your stomach if you eat more than this. Let's go, everyone’s waiting for us.”

It was not that easy to pull Naruto away from the ramen stand but he managed to do so. Naruto was still pouting but a promise of showing her some jutsu made her smile brightly at him. His little sister is not hard to please and he will kill anyone who hurts her.

~~~

Yōou was waiting for the rest of the team to gathers at the gate, ignoring the curious look the gatekeepers are throwing at her. She has been there for more than half an hour and sincerely hoping that no one will turn up late. She had went to the Hokage Tower to inquire the Hokage about the rest of the team but he didn’t tell her anything.

Yōou had let out a loud groaning at the thought of going to Uzuha with someone whose allegiance is unclear. She has no problems with her friends, their allegiance are solely with the Hokage. The problem is, the Hokage didn’t even realise of the shadow that lurking below the ground. And she had consulted this with her father and grandmother. Hence why her grandmother decided to immigrate to Konoha, her main reasons are spending some time with her younger daughter’s child and reformed Konoha's interrogation techniques. She just hope the older Uzumaki won’t gain any apprentice.

While she was engrossed in her train of thought, Yōou missed the arrival of four men and she only noticed them when one of them coughed to gain her attention. “Earth to Yōou-san.” A voice she knows quite well.

When she shifted her eyes from the path beyond the gates to obsidian black eyes, Yōou noticed two unknown shinobi besides the two Uchiha she had befriended. “Shisui-san, Itachi-kun,” she nodded at them both before staring pointedly at another two shinobi. She recognised the scent coming from the brown haired young man while the other one smelled like a blank canvas tinted with corruption. Now, she had an idea about that one and she didn't like it.

 _Speak of the devil and he shall sent one of his underling_ , she thought, wanting to snarl to frighten the one with blank canvas scent but decides not to. _It wouldn’t be as fun if I scare him away this early. Grandmother will be happy with this._

When the two unknown shinobi made no move to introduce themselves first, Yōou sighs and extend her right hand at them, “Uzumaki Yōou, nice to meet you.”

The brown haired young man stare at her for a moment before shaking her hand, “Tenzou, nice to meet you, Yōou-san.”

Yōou keep on offering her hand for a handshake but the last man didn’t seem to introduce himself and she gives up, “Suit yourself, do not complain to me if you got thrown to the wolves when we arrive at Uzuha.” She warned him, but either he didn’t believe her or think that she’s joking, he didn’t react to any of what she says.

“Yōou-san, where’s the other two?”

“Naruto wanted to eat ramen before we go so Ranmaru went with her. They should be back soon.” Yōou was glad for the change of topic, she doesn’t want Naruto to sense her sour mood.

“Ramen? Before we depart? Isn’t that reckless of her?” Hearing Shisui refers Naruto as a girl so easily made Yōou wonder if the time they struggle to call her properly was a lie but she know that a year was enough to get used to call the blonde Uzumaki as a girl.

“As long as she doesn’t eat more than five bowls, everything is fine.” Both Uchiha and Tenzou paled at the number of bowls, the latter even gagged a bit at the thought.

“That’s...a lot of bowls for a five years old girl, don't you think?” He asks, holding his stomach as if she had upset it by talking about ramen.

“Please, Naruto can easily hit ten bowls of ramen when she wants to. The addiction of ramen is so strong in her that it was actually a miracle to stop her from eating ramen less than five bowls.” She shrugged, not caring at how pale the men are, except for one person who keep being expressionless.

As if summoned, both Naruto and Ranmaru appears in a puff of smoke, clearly the silvery-white haired sixteen years old man was using shunshin and from the rich laughter coming out of Naruto, Yōou know her blond younger sister is loving the every second she spend with her older cousin.

“Alright, now that we are all here, shall we move on? We have a lot of ground to cover and we'd arrive at Uzuha around nightfall if we travel with medium speed. And before you ask, Naruto will be with my summon so we can get as fast as the four of you can handle.” Yōou wanted to arrive at Uzuha around noon but she doesn’t know if the men can handle moving as fast as she wanted to.

“...How fast can you be, Yōou-san? And what is the average time to reach Uzuha from Konoha?”

“I can reach Uzuha in an hour, without rest, Itachi-kun. And normally, it’ll be about eight hours to reach Uzuha from Konoha, still with the standard of Uzumaki clansmen. Is there anymore questions?”

The men shook their heads and without further ado, Yōou summoned a grey wolf who greeted her with a growl and a lick to her face, “What can I do for you, Hime-sama?”

“Hello, Rouga. We are going to Uzuha and can you take care of Naruto? She wanted to see the outside world and you are the perfect choice for that.” Yōou petted the wolf with affection and at the mention of Naruto’s name, the wolf shifted its yellow eyes to the child who still in Ranmaru’s arms and looking at the wolf with sparkling eyes.

“So pretty! Can I pet him, too? Can I, nee-chan?”

Naruto’s request made Yōou and the wolf look at each other for a moment, “Of course you can, Naruto.” She nodded with a smile that widens at the sight of Naruto’s excitement to pet the wolf once Ranmaru put her down.

The wolf stay still as Naruto pet its head. Yōou had to hold back her laugh as her summon's tail wagged furiously as Naruto cooed over its 'pretty coat'. “Come on, Naruto, I'll let you play with Rouga when we arrive at Uzuha but now we have to get going. Rouga.” The wolf nodded and lower itself so Naruto can climb on its back without difficulty.

As soon as Naruto is comfortable on top of the wolf, all of them take off, Yōou at the front, leading them while Itachi, Tenzou and the nameless one at the middle along with Naruto and Rouga while Ranmaru and Shisui at the rear. There should be no formation since they are still within the territory of Hi no Kuni but with the jinchūriki with them, they cannot risk anything, every one of them knows that. Hence why they did the formation, without talking about it.

Yōou and Ranmaru still keep an eye on the nameless one while Naruto, on top of Rouga, look around at the trees and simply enjoy the sensation of being free and the wind on her face. She had taken off the bracelet her sister gave her a minute after they take off just like how she was instructed to do. Both Uzumaki jōnin realised the nameless one keep his eyes on Naruto but they failed to realise Itachi and Shisui also have their eyes on Naruto, seemingly awestruck at the blonde child.

Rouga, who noticed the stares, filed the information as something it needed to tell it’s summoner as well as the pack. For now, it won’t destroy the little princess' fun.

* * *

The seven of them arrived at Uzuha just before dinner time and they went straight to a place Yōou said as the main estate of Uzumaki clan that looks a lot like a palace more than an estate. A crowd were waiting for them in front of the palace, seemingly eager to greet them. “Yōou Hime-sama, Ranmaru-sama, welcome back!” Some of them greets the two who nodded at them while most stare at Naruto before greeting the blond child with reverence, “Welcome to Uzuha, Naruto Hime-sama!”

The crowd then parted to let someone, a woman who looks like in her late thirties pass through to meet with the tired Konoha shinobi, “Welcome to Uzuha Village, shinobi of Konoha. I hope my granddaughters and grandnephew did not cause you any trouble on your way here.” The woman eyed said granddaughters, more specifically at Yōou and said grandnephew who looks like they didn’t just travel for hours with minimum rest while the other looks like they were about to drop dead in exhaustion.

“Thank you for the welcome, the way here was...” Shisui trailed, didn’t what to say as the way the crowd just parted to make way for the woman make him think she is an important figure in Uzumaki clan. And did she just refer Yōou and Naruto as granddaughters?

“Extreme?” The woman finished for him while nodding to herself, “Yes, the way here is indeed extreme. My father in law/uncle choose this place due to its extreme terrains to reach this place. He once mentioned that this place is a good place to train our young ones to adapt to any extreme terrains. The result of training in these terrains is what you can see in my granddaughter here, a feat not anyone had managed to beat. And yet she failed to mention this to all of you.” The woman stare pointedly at Yōou who look squarely at the woman’s eyes before look away and this surprised the Uchiha and Naruto. They never thought Yōou has someone she feared.

The woman frown but didn’t push the topic, she then orders Yōou to show their guests their rooms and give short tour to places they need to know instead before walking away. After a few moments, Yōou let out a big relief sigh.

“Phew, alright, let’s get you all to your designated rooms. Dinner should be ready around an hour.Follow me,”The four men watches as Yōou and Ranmaru took off their sandals and get pairs of slippers for them all. It didn’t take long for them to take off their sandals and soon, they are all walking through the hallway of the palace. Ranmaru had taken Naruto and Rouga with him while Yōou give the others a short tour to the dining room, kitchen and lounge room before she shows them the rooms they will occupy for their stay.

“A room for each of us? Is that okay?” Shisui asked after Yōou had told them which is their room among many guest rooms.

“It’s the least I can do, after all, I did forgot to mention how extreme the terrain was on the way here.” The redhead sighs and rubbed her neck before frowning how dirty she is.

“Is that why you said we have a lot of ground to cover despite this place is still inside Hi no Kuni?”

“That’s right, Itachi-kun. I got used to telling the young ones about it by saying that and it become a habit. Now, you can take a shower or a soak because each of your room has bathroom. Every room in this place has it. If you need me, my room is on the north side of this particular wing of the palace. You can ask someone for directions, too. Just make sure not to get too close to grandmother. She will skin you alive.”

They are all looking at their redhead companion with confused stares, _What is she talking about?_

The redhead let out another sigh and tried to explain as efficient and fast as she can. “Look, my grandmother is just recently retired from her position as Head of Torture and Interrogation division. In fact, she was relieved of duty several days ago. She still have the habit of what we know and noticed in our own Konoha's Torture and Interrogation division members; the habit to analyse anyone who hold something that could potentially be a trouble in near future or in a long run. She was looking at every of you with those analytical eyes. So, my suggestion is, to stay clear of her way and just be civil. She’d know when you become a tiny bit suspicious and you wouldn’t want to find yourself inside her torture room in the palace. Ibiki-san is a child compared to her, literally and his method is nicer than hers. I kid you not. She’s one of the most feared person in the whole clan, just because of that.” She warned them before excusing herself.

Yōou’s explanation of the older woman convinced the Uchiha when they heard her saying that their torture and interrogation division's Morino Ibiki has a nicer method of torture and interrogation than hers. They have thought Ibiki was cruel in his way but clearly, they were wrong. And this woman would be moving to Konoha and come with them once their business in Uzuha is done! Itachi and Shisui didn’t even hesitate to heed Yōou’s warning because they know she would never lie about someone, especially as this is her own grandmother whom exudes that particular aura that says, “Don’t mess with me or you'll regret it”.

Whilst the two Uchiha are convinced about the older woman, their other two companions, however did not. Tenzou thoughts that Yōou might have exaggerated it a bit while the nameless one didn’t care for such “trivial” things. He had a job to do and he won’t let anyone get in his way. Overall, they didn’t give a thought about Yōou’s warning and that the nameless one felt she just wanted to make her clan looks scarier than they actually were.

Throughout their stay in Uzuha, those two would be proven wrong by their own blood-red haired fellow shinobi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, truth be told, I do not expect this chapter to grown to be this monstrous chapter. All I did was just write it down and follow my muse. Never would have thought it to be this lengthy and takes so much time to get to a point where I can make a second part. I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Hopefully, the next part will not grow like this one.
> 
> Yes, I made Naruto biologically a girl because I intend to revive the Hatake clan through the marriage of Kakashi and Naruto. Hence why the tag of genderfluid is present.
> 
> Headcanon:  
> Before Kaguya came from the space and eat the World Tree fruit, only gods and nature possess chakra. The gods were worshipped by humans as they possess what the human called as mysterious power. The divine beings thinks of themselves as the only being allowed to have chakra so whenever the World Tree begin to grow, they assigned the only god with enough power to kill the Tree and that is, the Nature and Chaos god.  
> The Nature and Chaos god did her job every time the World Tree grows but when beings from outer space start to invade their world, the Nature and Chaos god took up the responsibility to drive them away because she is the only one with power to do so. Thousands of years passed by and the other gods begin to grow wary of the Nature and Chaos god who grow stronger and have the power to kill them. The divine beings then decided to annihilate the offsprings of the Nature and Chaos god. Out of nine offsprings, only two left and they were told by their mother to hide before said god confront her fellow divine beings.  
> The Nature and Chaos put up a fight that made many gods perished by her hands but they outnumbered her and destroyed her body. Before they can destroy her soul, the Nature and Chaos god divided her soul into nine fragments and sent the souls to her hiding children.  
> Due to their mother was a powerful god and her existence was essential for the balance of the world, the two divine children of the Nature and Chaos god decided to carry their mother's soul within themselves so their descendants will be vessels for their mother's soul should the world need her power once more. From the last remaining children of the Nature and Chaos god, emerge two clans who possessed chakra because of their divine blood long before Kaguya's arrival. One of the two clans was known for their vitality, unique power and unusually large amount of chakra. They are Uzumaki Clan.
> 
> OC introduction:  
> Name: Uzumaki Misato  
> Origin: Uzu no Kuni  
> Clan: Uzumaki  
> Age: 87 years old (physically looks like a man in his early thirties)  
> Height: 209cm/6.85ft  
> Weight: 80kg  
> Position: Former Second Uzukage  
> Siblings: Seven younger siblings, five of them died during the Uzu Invasion  
> Spouse: Uzumaki Harumi  
> Chakra affinity: Wind, water and earth  
> Appearance: Misato is a youthful man who has dark blood-red hair and violet-blue eyes. He normally wore traditional clothes during his free time but when he's in his workshop, he wore overalls.  
> Personality: A grandfather who like to spoil his grandchildren by letting them not eat their greens. He look harmless but he's actually an eccentric man who likes to invent things.  
> Ability: Misato is a seal master as well as a genjutsu specialist, a feat not every Uzumaki can achieve considering their large amount of chakra made it hard to control the illusion and not instantly kill the mental of their victim.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated. Stay safe and stay healthy.


End file.
